just a glutton for sympathy

a new post... a year later

2010-08-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I have decided to try blogging again. I got kind of burned out on it last year, but maybe I'm now ready for round 2.

New things in my life:

1) I now live in Portland, OR. And I love it! Specifically I live in the the Sellwood neighborhood, which is a great place. I'm in easy walking distance to tons of great restaurants, coffee shops, grocery markets, book stores, bike stores, and more. Plus I have made many friends in the neighborhood through the Adsideo community. And it's less than ten minutes to downtown Portland.

2) I am now attending graduate school. It is a great school called Lewis and Clark College in Portland. I am getting my M.A.T. (Masters of Arts in Teaching) so that I can be a high school teacher. I plan to teach graphic design, and inspire kids to be creative and make cool things. And then I can still freelance graphic design (like I am doing now) on the side and in the summers. Student teaching starts tomorrow!

3) Still doing poetry. Getting better at it. By this I mean I'm writing stuff that is actually what I want to write, is honest, and people still seem to like it.

4) My roommates (Chris Spicer, Luke Montgomery, Jen Clowers) and I are moving into a new house in Sellwood in two days. We are really excited as right now the four of us are living in a two bedroom apartment. There are always at least 2 people sleeping on the floor of the living room. We are having a housewarming party September 25th. Do yourself a favor and be there. Call me for details.

5) Recently read books: On The Road by Jack Kerouac, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and I am now about halfway through Watchmen by Alan Moore.

6) I started a worm composting bin. The right kind of worms can eat a large portion of your food waste, and actually turn it into good composting material. I wanted to do this when I was living in Idaho but never quite did. So now I have done it in Portland. I am nervous that my worms are going to die, I hope I am doing it right.

7) I got a bicycle. You get kicked out of Portland if you don't have one. I like riding it.

8) Single and sassy.

9) Today I am going to have some fun. More blogs to come. I promise.

poetry and slams and me

2009-07-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

I like this guy:

Very intense, but good.

If you didn't know, I have been doing poetry slams lately, they happen once a month in Boise. Well there are some other smaller ones that I haven't been to, but there is one big one a month. So anyway, I have been doing that for a little while now, about 5 or 6 months I guess. A poetry slam is a competition where poets recite original poems in front of an audience and 5 pre-selected audience members serve as judges. Each poem is judged from 0.1 to 10, the high and low scores are dropped, and the three middle scores added together are your score. If you are in the top half score-wise after every poet has gone, then you advance into the second round. The first and second round scores are then added together to determine the winner. Every time you place (1st, 2nd, 3rd) you accumulate points. (3pts, 2pts, and 1pt respectively) Then come August, if you are in the top 8 points-wise out of all the poets who compete in Boise, then you qualify for Finals. Finals is a poetry slam with all the highest point getting poets, where the winner qualifies to represent Boise in the Individual World Poetry Slam: a prestigious poetry slam that features 72 of the top poets from around the world. If you win that, I'm not sure what you get, possibly eternal glory. Anyway, August is upon us and I'm currently 4th in the points rankings in Boise, so on August 17th I will be competing to represent Boise at IWPS. It would definitely be a long-shot for me to win, as there are some pretty talented people I'm competing against. However, you never know. Anyway if you're in the area August 17th, over 21, and interested in seeing some of Boise's top slam poets, come on down to the Neurolux and have a good time with me.

**update: Well I actually won the Boise Finals! So I'll be competing in Berkley at IWPS October 8-10. So wish me luck!

driving

2009-05-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

If you're riding a motorcycle, the amount of people texting and calling people while they drive will scare you to death.

Then again, if you're riding a motorcycle most things should scare you to death.

But still...

science, art, and dreams.

2009-04-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

I just had a dream.

For some reason, I was participating in this pseudo art class (the teacher wasn't really qualified) where I happened to run into my old roommate, Steve. In the dream, Steve normally wouldn't be in this kind of class but he just needed one more credit to graduate. As a class we were walking around in a hardware store looking for art materials. Steve and I, excited to see each other again were chatting in the back of the group. The teacher then yelled at us for talking. Annoyed by this, we snuck off into a different aisle where a conversation about art theory began to take shape. He was telling me about this book he was reading, and how chapter 13 talked about simplifying things and that's what he's been trying to do...

Me: That's what I've been doing lately too!

Steve: No you haven't. I've seen your stuff.

Me: Have you seen my latest website. It's as simple as anything I've ever done.

Steve: Yeah I think I've seen you working on it, that whole thing where when you move the mouse the eyes move to follow the cursor...

Me: No no no. That was something I was trying for my old website. What I've done now is narrowed it down to just three slides. Like old map slides that we used to have at the front of the class in elementary school. One slide is for contact information... yadda yadda yadda... and the last slide just goes through my portfolio fairly linearly.

Steve: Yeah that sounds pretty good. But you're not understanding the kind of simple I'm talking about. To me it comes down to science. Art should be simple enough and pure enough to be science. What I'm doing is taking a real scientific or mathematical formula and breaking it down into its simplest structure and components and theory, breaking it down into its essence, and from there turning that into art. Art based on the simplest truths of science, now that is real art.

At this point I woke up. This was probably the most intellectual dream I've ever had. A dream where I question the entire purpose of art? Naturally I'm stuck here wondering if there was any truth in what "Steve" was saying. Who knows. I don't know that art has to be one specific way or another, different art works for different people. But this new art theory has got me thinking at least. And that's a cool dream, when you can think about it afterwards.

pass the bong

2009-04-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I was talking with a friend who brought up marijuana. This friend (let's call him Billy) said that his favorite feeling in the world is the feeling of smoking some mj and then reading the bible or listening to certain music. Billy said that it opened his mind and made him think about things in new ways that he couldn't even describe. It made him realize how important love was. Billy also made it clear that he is not a "pot-head" and maybe only does this a few times a year. So of course, this got me thinking about this drug called marijuana.

First of all, I'm not sure how I feel on whether or not it should be legalized. It may be less harmful than alcohol, and it's hard to get upset about a drug that makes people want to think about life and love and be creative. Compare that to Alcohol, which is responsible for many a bad thing: violence, drunk driving accidents, depression, addiction, or just doing stupid things that you will have to live down. And don't get me wrong, there are definitely some bad side effects from marijuana, namely loss of ambition, loss of memory and suppression of the brain's learning center, tar in your lungs, and some more I'm sure. So based on that alone, I'm not really sure one way or the other.

The reason I think I oppose marijuana, is much for the same reason I oppose MSG. It's not real life. MSG makes your brain think your bland food actually tastes good. The food doesn't actually taste good, but the MSG chemicals change your brain's perception. While MSG may not have many actual bad side effects, many people are very much against it. Methinks this is due to the idea that we don't want to be lied to. If your food isn't good enough for us to like on it's own merit, surely we can go somewhere where it is. Nobody really wants to substitute something fake for something real. Well when someone says they like the feeling of being high on a little weed, I guess I feel the same way. Why do you care about what your brain thinks when it's nerve cells are being rocked by some THC? It's not real life. So what if it makes you feel more philosophical? If you can't manage to want to think philosophically about things with an un-altered brain, maybe thinking about things isn't for you. Otherwise, it seems like you'd also be a proponent of athletes using steroids. Like steroids, it's cheating, but only for your mind. Does that make sense? If you like to get high because of the way it makes you think, do you then like to douse your food in MSG because of the way it makes you think your food tastes? Do you then like to see athletes pump in the steroids because of the way it makes their bodies be stronger? I'm not opposing it based on side-effects or health reasons, but because to me it's cheating yourself. It's making your brain something it isn't. If you want to think more philosophically, read books, study Socrates, find some open-minded intelligent friends. That way when you're thinking more clearly about things, it's because you actually were trying instead of just letting some drug temporarily (or maybe not so temporarily) change your brain. I don't want to settle for a brain that only philosophizes when altered by drugs, I want a brain that can philosophize in real life, on its own.

This is for my mom.

2009-04-05T20:17:00.001-07:00

This isn't the blog I promised... It's just a little something for my mom. Hi Aunt Nola and Uncle Keith.

books schmooks

2009-03-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading Herzog by Saul Bellow. I really like it so far. I have a lot of books on my to-do list. Like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey, Ulysses by James Joyce, You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers to name a few.

I love reading. There is a great satisfaction that comes with reading a good book. Especially when it's a book that really keeps you thinking, even after you're done with it. I just wish it wasn't so time consuming. There are so many books that I want to read but don't know if I will ever be able to.

Maybe since I'm in my car so much these days, I should invest in some audiobooks. Hmm... good idea.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know.

Will you be my focus group?

2009-03-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, that last post was just some crappy research paper that I stumbled across and decided to put on my blog as a joke. I wouldn't blame you if you stayed far away from that blog. Though, kudos if you did read it.

Question: Will you help me out? I just made myself a new website and I'd be honored if you would check it out and give your opinion. The only rule is no checking it out and keeping your opinion to yourself. That's just selfish.

www.peterjohnsondesign.com

Thanks. Have a nice day. Or something.

For your edification.

2009-03-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Why The Crusades?

and thusly something to be desired:
Indeed we have seen these Franks in the same regions, often right with us, or we have heard about them in places distant from us, suffering dismemberment, crucifixion, flaying, death by arrows or by being rent apart, or other kinds of martyrdom, all for the love of Christ. They could not be overcome by threats or temptations, nay rather if the the butcher’s sword had been at hand many of us would not have refused martyrdom for the love of Christ. (Fulcher)

And, understandably, Fulcher of Chartres had no benevolent opinions regarding the Turks or Arabs. He was greatly in favor of Pope Urban’s original plan of reestablishing cordial relations with the Byzantine emperor and the orthodox church. He actually admired the Emperor Alexius. When people like Baldwin and Bohemond invaded parts of the Byzantine empire he had no objections and when Bohemond clashed with Alexious (1107-1108), Fulcher bought into Bohemond’s propaganda, stating that Alexius had used “trickery and open violence” to impede the journey of the pilgrims by both land and sea. Unfortunately, Fulcher appears to be chiefly interested in popularizing the crusade, and doesn’t talk about the things that might be helpful and more interesting to this topic. According to Fink: Fulcher was in most respects a very ordinary person whose attitudes present interesting contradictions. He considered the crusade to be a sacred cause, but didn’t fail to notice that it allowed some Franks to become rich. “He believed himself to be a devout Christian; but by today’s standards he exhibited a most un-Christian attitude toward his fellow men who happened to be Muslims.” But, there is one inconsistency that in my opinion is of utmost importance and interest. Fulcher typically hyped the crusade as a holy cause, but did once write, “Oh war, hateful to the innocent and horrible to the spectators! War is not beautiful although it is thus called…I saw the battle, I wavered in my mind, I feared to be struck…One struck, his enemy fell. The one knew no pity, the other asked none. One lost a hand, the other an eye. Human understanding recoils when it sees such misery.” (Fink)

According to Fulcher’s example, even one hell-bent on crusading could have his doubts. Other things learned are that if one was for the crusade then he most likely started off with good intentions of reconnecting with the Byzantine empire and reclaiming the all-important Holy Land that had basically been destroyed by the Arabs. Second, the fact that Fulcher devoted much of his energy to popularizing the crusade tells me that there must have been some sort of significant resistance to it from the people. Third, people participating and promoting the crusades, apparently did it with full belief in their and its Christianity.

Parnoud further supports this idea that Christians at that time surely had no sense that they were committing an aggression. “They believed that they were repairing an injustice, using violence only to reconquer what had been torn from them by violence, and bringing to an end the oppression endured by those populations which had remained Christian.” And to further explain it he says, “If in our day the Moslem world nurses a grudge against the Crusades and still celebrates, after seven centuries, the anniversary of the captivity of Saint Louis, one can understand that the Christians should have felt a similar grievance against the Moslems because of a conquest which had taken place four centuries earlier, but which recent events had just then aggravated.” [The massacre of the Arminians and then tearing down the silver cross which “surmounted the cupola of their cathedral” and then was melted down to act as a doorstop for a mosque. (Parnoud)]

For an even more comprehensive understanding of what the “reconquest of the Holy Land meant to an eleventh century Christian,” we have to consider the whole idea in that time of the importance of a fief (which I have learned is “the piece of land to which you belong, which nourishes you and over which you possess certain rights” and was the very essence of feudal society) So, for every Christian at that time, the Holy Land was the common fief of all Christendom. We can see how that notion affected people of that time with the example of Charlemagne, who as soon as he re-established the empire began to concern himself and the empire with the fate of that same land. As it goes, no Christian back then could be content thinking that the Holy Land was gone for good. So when pilgrimages became increasingly difficult, the Pope as the spiritual leader, pushed for Christians to reconquer their fief (their land). “This was the impulse that gave birth to the First Crusade.” (Parnoud)

In seeing this background and how the people of the time thought about certain things, it makes sense that when Pope Urban called for liberation, the people responded. In 1095 Urban proclaimed war with “two distinct liberation goals.” The first was to free the eastern churches, especially in Jerusalem, from the “savagery and tyranny” of the Muslims. The second goal was perhaps more influential in convincing the people than the idea of freeing their fellow Christians. That was the idea of the liberation of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem which was a receptacle for sacred relics. (Riley-Smith)

As the Crusades continued, there became other interests and motivations, “born partly of the desire to keep Palestine once it had been reconquered,” which caused the original interests to become distorted and turned the Crusades into more primarily a “struggle against the Islamic world.” (Parnoud)

It’s interesting to look ahead to the end of crusading, which for all intents and purposes began to start dying around the 16th century. One big contributing factor was that in the 16th century the idea of using “Christ’s authority for the use of force” began to be questioned or challenged. This idea was perpetuated by Dominican Francisco de Vitoria who had quite a critical reaction to the violence committed by his fellow citizens against the “New-World Indians.” For Vitoria and his followers, the main “justification for violence could not be a divine plan.” (Riley-Smith) So it took people about 400 or 500 years to come to a realization that these Holy Wars were not actually holy at all, a concept that seems so obvious to Christians today. But what started in the name of God, in part, came to end in the same name.

In conclusion, the evils that the Crusades are so well known for, while certainly not something to be proud of, can in fact be understood to make sense. If you take in the factors that were so important to Christians back then, the significance of pilgrimages, the cherished Holy Land, the incorporation of Christianity into life in a way that we can’t even really understand, and so on; you can start to understand the reasoning and justification behind the Holy Wars. While you probably still won’t be okay with the atrocities committed, understanding the fairly reasonable motives for the original Crusades might help you become a little more comfortable with a dark part of our Christian history.

Works Cited

Cox, George W. The Crusades. John B. Alden Publisher, New York: 1962.

Fink, Herald S. A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127 by Fulcher of Chartres. University of Tennessee Press, Tennessee: 1969.

Pernoud, Régine. The Crusades. Capricorn Books, New York: 1964.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Crusades, A History. Second Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven: 2005.

best infomercial... ever...?

2009-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

A big declaration but it just might be true. What do you think?

Ad Wizards: Slim Clip @ Yahoo! Video

Backwards

2009-02-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

What is wrong with this picture?

Anti-Aging Solution

2009-02-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

How to lose 5 years in 15 minutes. Probably works better for men.

the best job in the world

2009-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Australia is offering what they call "The Greatest Job In The World." Apparently, if selected for the job you get paid 100 grand for six months to go live on Australia's Hamilton Island (which they have conveniently nicknamed "Paradise Island") and do a bunch of island stuff like snorkeling the reef, lazing it up on the beach, hanging out with free rent in your 3-bedroom oceanfront villa with a pool and personal golf buggy, yadda yadda yadda. The person who gets the job has to report on the Queensland lifestyle to a global audience weekly through blogs, pictures, video, etc.

The purpose of of the job is of course to help protect Australia's tourism industry during this bad economy. In order to be considered for the job, applicants have to submit a video making their case for why they deserve the job. Out of the thousands of applicants, 11 are selected to be flown out to Australia for an interview, all based off their minute-or-less video.

So of course I had to give it a shot. My mom should be proud that I applied for a job. Here's my video, if you like it, you should go to http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/vQpTvv4QC9Y and give my video 5 stars!

Yeah I kind of went a less traditional route with my vid. Kept it short and sweet and hopefully different enough to stand out.

Guess who?

2009-02-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

One of these guys is Justin Dentmon (star guard for the Washington Huskies) and the other one is Kanye West (some musician).

Thoughts in a jot note #2.

2009-02-07T01:40:00.000-08:00

-Why do I do the things that I do?

-I wish I was a slam poet.

-Why is it that when you're hungry at 2 in the morning it's always for some kind of food that you'd never really eat during the day?

-What is taking them so long with inventing teleporters?

-Facebook statuses are slowly taking over people's lives.

-Pro sports are fun and cool and all, but seriously, 14 million to Matt Cassel? In this economy?

-Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist... eh. I'd give it a B. Maybe B-.

-Why is it whenever I meet a girl I immediately assess whether or not she has the potential to be my soulmate?

-I should go to bed.

-I should blog more.

-No I should go to bed.

montage mania

2009-02-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

In response to Bob's ingenious movie speech blog, I thought I'd come out with a competing blog. Every great movie has one thing in common, a great montage. Here are some of the best.

3. Karate Kid
There's nothing quite like seeing a scared skinny kid rely on Mr. Miagi's wisdom and training to truly become the best (around).

2. Teen Wolf (dedicated to Bill Simmons)
What's more beautiful than a kid who wants to be special finding out he's a werewolf, yet still being able to lead his highschool team of losers to win in the end? Oops I hope I didn't give anything away.

1. Rocky 4
Well every Rocky movie has a pretty amazing montage scene so it was hard to pick just one. But I think Rocky 4, with it's heavy synth and awesome contrast between Rocky and Drago's workouts, takes the cake. If you're not ready to work out after this you might not be human.

Well I wanted to do some other ones but I couldn't find them on You Tube. But this list is pretty legit, if you ever need to get pumped up, bookmark this page.

encounters at the end of the world and some other thoughts

2009-01-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

You know it's a bad sign for a TV show when someone (in this case, me) will sit through and watch the first half an hour and be bored enough to turn the TV off in favor of Facebook or blogging. If you haven't managed to suck me in after a full half-hour of my attention you might be in serious trouble. Sorry Lawrence Fishburne and the rejuvenated CSI, your first season luster has worn off for good.

You ever feel like just driving in silence? I don't do it very often, in fact hardly at all. I think the reason is because when you are driving in silence there is really nothing to distract you from your thoughts. You're forced to think about that mistake that you made or you want to make; you're forced to think about things that normally only creep up in your dreams. And it's not just thinking about those things, but you are totally conscious of it as opposed to the back-of-your-mind role those thoughts usually play. It's amazing how much our sanity relies on distraction. Thankfully we're all mastering the skill of texting and driving, so there's never any excuse to not be distracted while we drive.

I learned about a sick irony in life when I was just in 10th grade. You see, all the years leading up to then I desperately wanted to be cool. I never was. In 10th grade I pretty much stopped caring and started doing whatever I wanted to do regardless of what I thought other people would think. The irony is, of course, that year I was more "cool" than probably any other year of my life. But it's hard not to care. The thing I've learned time and time again is nobody can just decide to be "cool" or "unique." Circuit City can't consult an advertising agency and ask them to help them become "cool." It doesn't work that way. Slapping Fall Out Boy on all your ads is a joke. You have to do your own thing. (As in be yourself) The coolest thing you can ever hope to be is someone or something that doesn't care about the definition of "cool."

Hope Springs Eternal. I was watching House the other day and he quoted this popular phrase. Even though he was using it in a condescending way, it really is beautiful sounding. It basically means people will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds. To me that is a good sign, it also reaffirms the idea that we were meant for better things.

I am retarded when it comes to girls. I have what I am now considering to be a defense mechanism in that I pretend to like just about every girl. I playfully flirt with them, knowing that they pretty much always know I'm just a flirty jokester. This way I never have to deal with rejection, since I'm constantly expecting it. Lately I've felt that this attitude has put me at a distinct disadvantage when there actually is a girl I like. For one, does she have any way of knowing that I'm not joking with her like I am with everyone else? Two, does she (and more importantly do her friends) think that I'm the kind of guy that likes every girl? I am trying to force myself to quit this bad habit.

I scraped my hand on my heater. It's kinda gnarly for what it was. This picture probably doesn't do it justice. But take my word for it.

So I'm without a doubt rooting for the Cardinals this sunday. Though I'm definitely a band-wagoner, I've been rooting for them throughout the playoffs. Any time a team that is usually considered one of the weakest teams in the worst conference makes the Super Bowl you can bet I'll be rooting for them. Plus what kind of a DB do you have to be to root for the Stealers? Especially if you're from the west coast and super especially if you're from Seattle.

Have you ever been annoyed by a driver? If not you've never been to Idaho (sober at least). What's up with people who drive so slow in the leftmost lane? I have my cruise control set to a comfortable 5 over, basically moseying along when I come up behind one of these mystery persons, and instead of just getting over, they wait until I get right up behind them, until I've already had to take off the cruise control and manually slow down to 10 under or whatever, and then they signal and take their sweet time getting over. Now I'm stuck wasting gas trying to get back up to freeway speeds and doing my best to fight off road-rage, all because these people can't figure out the difference between the left and right lanes.

Do people ever truly change?

East of Eden was a really good book. I finished it about two weeks ago and I can't hardly read anything else because I'm still trying to let East of Eden sink in and settle amongst my thoughts.

Chris and I watched a documentary called Encounters At The End Of The World, which was basically about researchers and scientists in Antarctica. Not only was it about what they were researching, but about what brought them to Antartica and how their impact on Antarctica might or might not be good. Though far from my favorite documentary (don't worry, Hoop Dreams!) it did talk about some interesting stuff. One thing was about what was basically a Conscious Universe theory. The idea was that in some sense, the world is a living organism. One guy was studying the ice and through studying it had come to the conclusion that you had to treat it like a living entity. It's not just static frozen water, but an extremely powerful force that had the capability to significantly alter our existence. Another guy from the University of Hawaii was studying neutrinos. They are basically these particles that we know nothing about. They are smaller than an atom, and though this very second trillions of them just went through your nose, they don't do anything. They float through matter, be it a star, a planet, or a person. Magnetic fields have no effect on them. Gravity's influence on them is almost nonexistent. Neutrinos saturate our universe, flying in all directions to no particular destination, and the more scientists learn about them, the stranger they seem to be.

"They exist in a way that's almost otherworldly," said Peter Gorham, principal investigator of the neutrino detector ANITA (ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antennae). "They have very little interaction with matter as we know it. They don't affect anything that we do day to day. In some ways, they are the particle of the mystic. Physicists know they exist and can make precision measurements of their characteristics, but everything about them is strange and unexpected."

One of neutrinos' bizarre truths is that despite the lack of effect that matter has on them, they exert an enormous amount of influence on matter.

"In the early universe, before there were any elements, neutrinos dominated for some time," Gorham said. "During that time is when all the elements were formed. And without that neutrino soup in the very early part of the universe, we would not have the elements we have now. We could not. They are absolutely, inextricably tied into chemistry, physics and the physical elements. Those things could not exist without neutrinos."

To me this is extremely interesting. Could neutrinos be scientist's best understanding of the presence of an omnipotent God, who created the earth, yet lets us live with free-will? I don't know, it's definitely interesting though.

Lastly, the thing that struck me about the documentary was that according to the filmmaker, most of the scientists, through their research and experiences, had come to the conclusion that, as a species, humans are not going to be around that much longer. Does this bother you? It doesn't really bother me because it's the same thing my bible teaches. If you truly believe you've got some kind of claim to 'truth' then there's no need to be scared of science, like so many christians are. Science is seeking the truth, so are you.

101 movies

2009-01-23T01:05:00.000-08:00

The other day Chris challenged me to list my 100 favorite movies. Not to be outdone, I did my 101 favorite movies. Please bear in mind that these are just personal favorites, not what I consider to be the best 101 movies ever made. This was tough because I'm almost positive I left out about ten movies that I just didn't remember, and of course the list could change as soon as I go see another movie. But for now, enjoy.

rank. movie / year / director
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Royal Tenenbaums / 2001 / Wes Anderson

2. 12 Angry Men / 1957 / Sidney Lumet

3. The Shawshank Redemption / 1994 / Frank Darabont

4. L.A. Confidential / 1997 / Curtis Hanson

5. House Of Flying Daggers / 2004 / Yimou Zhang

6. Dumb and Dumber / 1994 / Peter Farrelly

7. The Sting / 1973 / George Roy Hill

8. Be Kind, Rewind / 2008 / Michel Gondry

9. Rushmore / 1998 / Wes Anderson

10. No Country for Old Men / 2007 / Ethan Coen Joel Coen

11. Hoop Dreams / 1994 / Steve James

12. Lion King / 1994 / Roger Allers Rob Minkoff

13. Cool Hand Luke / 1967 / Stuart Rosenberg

14. Unforgiven / 1994 / Clint Eastwood

15. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid / 1969 / George Roy Hill

16. Rocky / 1976 / John G. Avildsen

17. Cool Runnings / 1993 / Jon Turteltaub

18. White Men Can't Jump / 1992 / Ron Shelton

19. Rear Window / 1954 / Alfred Hitchcock

20. The Usual Suspects / 1994 / Bryan Singer

21. The Fellowship of the Ring / 2001 / Peter Jackson

22. Die Hard / 1988 / John McTiernan

23. Field Of Dreams / 1989 / Phil Alden Robinson

24. Big / 1988 / Penny Marshall

25. To Kill a Mockingbird / 1962 / Robert Mulligan

26. A Few Good Men / 1992 / Rob Reiner

27. The Virgin Suicides / 1999 / Sofia Coppola

28. Pulp Fiction / 1994 / Quentin Tarantino

29. When Harry Met Sally... / 1989 / Rob Reiner

30. Casablanca / 1942 / Michael Curtiz

31. The Wrestler / 2008 / Darren Aronofsky

32. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / 1975 / Milos Forman

33. The Dark Knight / 2008 / Christopher Nolan

34. Slumdog Millionaire / 2008 / Danny Boyle Loveleen Tandan

35. High Fidelity / 2000 / Stephen Frears

36. Street Fighter II The Animated Movie / 1994 / Gisaburo Sugii

37. Fight Club / 1999 / David Fincher

38. Memento / 2000 / Christopher Nolan

39. Sneakers / 1992 / Phil Alden Robinson

40. The Hustler / 1961 / Robert Rossen

41. The Matrix / 1999 / Andy Wachowski Larry Wachowski

42. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button / 2008 / David Fincher

43. Gladiator / 2000 / Ridley Scott

44. American History X / 1998 / Tony Kaye

45. The Lives Of Others / 2006 / Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

46. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind / 2004 / Michel Gondry

47. Se7en / 1995 / David Fincher

48. There Will Be Blood / 2007 / Paul Thomas Anderson

49. Full Metal Jacket / 1987 / Stanley Kubrick

50. Sin City / 2005 / Frank Miller Robert Rodriguez

51. Inherit The Wind / 1960 / Stanley Kramer

52. Braveheart / 1995 / Mel Gibson

53. Annie Hall / 1977 / Woody Allen

54. Into The Wild / 2007 / Sean Penn

55. City Of God / 2002 / Fernando Meirelles Kátia Lund

56. The Bourne Ultimatum / 2007 / Paul Greengrass

57. Sleepy Hollow / 1999 / Tim Burton

58. Back to the Future / 1985 / Robert Zemeckis

59. Snatch. / 2000 / Guy Ritchie

60. Remember The Titans / 2000 / Boaz Yakin

61. Dog Day Afternoon / 1975 / Sidney Lumet

62. V for Vendetta / 2005 / James McTeigue

63. Twelve Monkeys / 1995 / Terry Gilliam

64. Little Miss Sunshine / 2006 / Jonathan Dayton Valerie Faris

65. Good Will Hunting / 1997 / Gus Van Sant

66. The Darjeeling Limited / 2007 / Wes Anderson

67. My Cousin Vinny / 1992 / Jonathan Lynn

68. It's a Wonderful Life / 1946 / Frank Capra

69. The Sandlot / 1993 / David M. Evans

70. Oceans Eleven / 2001 / Steven Soderbergh

71. The Princess Bride / 1987 / Rob Reiner

72. Rambo: First Blood / 1982 / Ted Kotcheff

73. Rocky IV / 1985 / Sylvester Stalone

74. Hoosiers / 1986 / David Anspaugh

75. Mission Impossible / 1996 / Brian De Palma

76. Mighty Ducks / 1992 / Stephen Herek

77. El Mariachi / 1992 / Robert Rodriguez

78. Sleepers / 1996 / Barry Levinson

79. Training Day / 2001 / Antoine Fuqua

80. The Hurricane / 1999 / Norman Jewison

81. Il Postino / 1994 / Michael Radford

82. Casino Royale / 2006 / Martin Campbell

83. 8 Mile / 2002 / Curtis Hanson

84. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? / 1988 / Robert Zemeckis

85. Desperado / 1995 / Robert Rodriguez

86. Finding Neverland / 2004 / Marc Forster

87. Rounders / 1998 / John Dahl

88. The Rainmaker / 1997 / Francis Ford Cappola

89. A Streetcar Named Desire / 1951 / Elia Kazan

90. The Karate Kid / 1984 / John G. Avildsen

91. Dances With Wolves / 1990 / Kevin Costner

92. The Visitor / 2007 / Thomas McCarthy

93. Moulin Rouge! / 2001 / Baz Luhrmann

94. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective / 1994 / Tom Shadyac

95. Better Off Dead / 1985 / Savage Steve Holland

96. A Beautiful Mind / 2001 / Ron Howard

97. Helvetica / 2007 / Gary Hustwit

98. Ray / 2004 / Taylor Hackford

99. Blazing Saddles / 1974 / Mel Brooks

100. Waiting For Guffman / 1996 / Christopher Guest

101. Rocky Balboa / 2006 / Sylvester Stallone

a theological gallimaufry

2009-01-08T00:45:00.000-08:00

I wrote this poem a while back, in lieu of the election, about love and hate. The poem really isn't that great, but at the time I wrote it it started me thinking about love more. Since then it's been a recurring topic that I've been wrestling with. My thoughts are more scattered than usual. Please bear with me.

I was leafing through the famous christian devotional book, My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers, and though I'm sure the book is as good as everyone says it is, I noticed a trend. I noticed that for just about each point he made, (and he makes 365 of them) it could in its essence be boiled down to one of two things: love your neighbor as yourself, and love the Lord Your God with all your soul, strength and mind. Chalk up two points for Jesus.

I've been thinking a lot lately about love and what it means. According to Jesus, the two greatest commandments both revolve around love. Love your neighbor as yourself and love the Lord Your God with all your soul, strength and mind. He must've been a pretty smart guy because the more I think about it (and I have been thinking about it) these two commandments cover just about everything else. And to think he answered that on the spot, off of the top of his head. I've been thinking about it for a month and still haven't wrapped my head around it. What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? How much do you love yourself? Enough to make sure you eat 3 meals a day? Enough to make sure you are warm in winter? Enough to make sure you have access to fun things like TVs and baseball games? Enough to get an education? If I think about it, I do a whole lot of things for myself, and nothing for my 'neighbor.' What would it look like to truly love them as much as I love myself? That's what I've been trying to figure out. All I know is a few things: It's more than just a general acceptance of people--because anyone can do that, Paul says love is not self-serving, and Jesus commands it above all else. No wonder so many people don't want to be christians; that's no easy calling.

Aaron Weiss was doing an interview a while ago and he was talking about when he became a christian how his parents (mom a Sunni muslim and dad a jew) were very uneasy because they were worried that he was going to try to convert them all the time. But he said he came to a realization that it wasn't his duty to convert anybody, but to love everybody and that God would bring about the conversion of their hearts if that's what was needed. I can't help but to agree (and remember loving everyone is more than just a general acceptance or a warm fuzzy feeling; in the words of DC Talk: Love is a verb.)

So I guess my point is just to get you thinking about love and what it means. Maybe you have a better understanding than I do. But I'm getting tired of reading about it, thinking about it, and not doing it. I am supposedly a child of God, a co-heir with Christ. I want to live up to that.

God is not only a merciful god, but He wants us to be merciful to others.

"Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and dish but on inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?"
-Jesus, as if he were speaking directly to me.

I guess I'll share the poem that inspired this, seems like a fitting end to an unresolved blog.

They started a fire.
Screaming. Inspiring the opposite of what [He] said.
You're better off dead, the gist of it.
They say it's pretty grey.

But the question is marking the punctuation of something that never should have ended.
Like George Bush getting detention. Or suspended.
Little league politics.
Arguing guns and taxes with redneck hicks.
Or pompous 'einsteins' and their million-dollar stock picks.
Tax breaks! or no tax breaks the plane of x and why do anything when nothing really matters?
Like voting or eating Pizza Hut till the whole world's fatter. Or climbing up the corporate ladder.
Stepping on backs, shoulders, heads to get to the top. But when you get there where are you really?
Besides on someone's head that now is splattered. So why stop?

If kids are crying, hurt and hiding in the streets.
People can't get money so they're stealing what should be free. Like taste and decency.
Living on the street with empty houses on that same exact street.
I say it might be time to re-define equity.
Even I got a college degree and learned that no one's really winning when people can't afford to eat.

So we're back to screaming with words like flames about wars and politics.
With nothing at the root of it.
Except for backwards agendas and black and white presidents.
Except there's so much grey.

So.

So maybe Jesus knew what he was talking about. The love of money.
Well I hate it.
I want to throw it all away.
If you want something I'll give it to you if you'll return the favor.
Maybe then I could forget my greed and go back to loving my neighbor.

if I found you you're stuck. STUCK.
So close your eyes. Think about that person you hate.
Who supports that person you hate. Who hates who you don't hate. Your hate his hate hate hate. Your hate.

Think about it.

And then forget it. Count to onetwothreefourfiv- well see if you can get to ten.
And if you can't then try again.
And maybe by then it'll go away. All of your hate will fly away like the birds on the road when my car zooms by.

Hapworth.

2008-12-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, I'm a bona-fide J.D. Salinger expert as I have now read every book published by the man. He is probably my favorite author. My favorite books by him are, in order:

1. Franny and Zooey
2. The Catcher In The Rye
3. Nine Stories
4. Raise High The Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction

I want to say that 1 and 2 are so close it's hardly fair to say I like one better than the other. It most likely depends on the mood.

Salinger, who is still alive, hasn't published any books since 1963. He apparently is a bit reclusive and doesn't like attention. His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924," appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965. The exciting news is a small publisher has made an arrangement with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form. This is supposed to be available January, 2009. As in a few days.

So to anyone who feels guilty for not getting me a Christmas present... now you have no excuse.

on the 8th day of christmas my true love gave to me

2008-12-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Last night it was 5 degrees out. Now it's the middle of the day, so it's a good 17 or so. This is possibly the coldest winter I have had, so far. Which is only part of the reason it will be nice to go home for a while where everything is a good ten degrees warmer. The other part is of course to see family and friends and to enjoy me some Christmas.

Some Christmas cheer:
-I don't see why everyone freaks out about the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album. It's not really that Christmassy or sing-a-longy. I think, as a dear friend suggested, it's just an excuse for Sufjan lovers to listen to listen to Sufjan guilt-free during the holidays. I'll take Alvin and the Chipmunks do Christmas over that any day!

-I recently read a blog which advocated buying handmade gifts for Christmas. Apparently it's more thoughtful and better for the environment and is helping actual people instead of just big chain stores. The problem is, for the most part, handmade gifts just aren't that cool. I mean who wants weird, overpriced jewelry anyway? However if you totally disagree with me then you can live it up at www.buyhandmade.org

-Last year the fireworks that shoot off from the space needle malfunctioned. In retrospect it was pretty funny. I think my friends and I may have found our New Years Eve tradition of going down to Seattle for the needle-fireworks, since we have done that the last couple years. We'll see if it happens again. It's either that or staying home to watch Carson Daly and T-pain!!!!

-The Seahawks won last week. Way to not be last place in the worst division in the NFL. All I want for Christmas is a new basketball team. And a respectable Huskies anything. And the Seahawks to stop sucking and getting injured. Is that too much to ask, Santa?

Hope everyone is enjoying their December, which amazingly is already over half gone.

coffee and a cold shower

2008-12-03T20:21:00.001-08:00

I have been thinking.

In this day and age (and maybe earlier since I wasn't really around to witness) Christians pretty much drink just as much as non-christians. And obviously I'm referring to drinking alcohol, not water/soda. And mostly they are fine with it. Drinking is fun, cool, and [addicting?]. In making an effort to move away from 'checklist' religion (saying no specific actions are going to either get you into or restrict you from eternity) you really shouldn't judge a person's faith by whether or not they drink. And, well, you really shouldn't be judging people's faith anyway. In the words of Clive Staples L, "It is not for us to say who, in the deepest sense, is or is not close to the spirit of Christ. We do not see into men's hearts. We cannot judge, and are indeed forbidden to judge." And I wholeheartedly agree. Which is why I am not writing a blog saying that anyone who drinks is a bad Christian or any Christian who doesn't drink is just being ignorant (or something absurd like that). If you knew me you would know that kind of thing does not interest me.

What does interest me, however, is one thing I've noticed--and here's where sweeping generalizations start to come into play--about many Christians who may find themselves enjoying some spirits from time to time:
They never get 'drunk.' Sure they will admit that they were fairly buzzed, or slightly tipsy, but never go as far as to suggest that they were drunk. It is totally fine to drink until you have trouble standing as long as you disguise it something else, in this case getting tipsy, which we all know is faaaar from drunkenness. And if one calls them out on it (getting drunk), they will deny it vehemently. The sad thing is they are not denying the act (they were just out doing it), they are really denying the word in fear of the perception others might have (not excluding God himself). Here's my thought, if you're fine with drinking and are going to get drunk, don't try to cover it up with dainty euphemisms. A spade is a spade, right? Instead of denying it, which only comes off as weakness in the fact that you are doing something controversial and you can't explain why, either defend your position on the issue or realize that you can't defend it and don't do it anymore. Those are the only two options I can think of that make any sense.

footnote: I have been reading Salinger again, and he uses tons of commas and parentheses, which may or may not have affected the writing style of this particular blog.

college football woes

2008-11-23T16:49:00.000-08:00

I've been bad at blogging. Guess that happens. I thought I should probably say something in lieu of the Huskies being the worst football team in Division 1 football... but words really don't come easily. I have been so tempted to burn everything I own that is purple and gold and just turn my back on the team, but I haven't. And it's a good thing because I guess this is the ultimate test of who is a Huskies fan. If anyone can endure an 0-12 season and still wear their Huskies shirt then you know they are a real fan. And while I maybe haven't watched every game this season (it's too hard to watch) I guarantee you that next year come August I will be dawning my purple and gold and be there cheering on the Dawgs. After-all, at this point we can only get better.

Side note: since I have been over in Idaho I have gained a slight interest in the Boise State football team. (it's nice to actually have one team in my life that can win) Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they will get a BCS bid even though they are ranked number 9, going to finish ahead of about half the major conference winners, and are undefeated. It's rough for the WAC.

Side note #2: I hope the Huskies basketball team can somehow overcome the Seattle sports curse. It will be a rough winter otherwise.

I wrote a little song for you (with a melody I'd borrowed put to words that didn't rhyme)

2008-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Well this is my 70th post. Believe it or not I've said 70 things over the last half year plus, and each one of them has been so profound and world shattering your life probably changed. Right?

Well, I figured I'd do another post about music. I really started to get interested in music in about 8th grade. To be honest it started when Scott Haines burned me a mix. On that mix was mostly popular rap songs of the day, but I also had him throw on a Green Day song (who I knew a little about) and an MxPx song (who I had only heard of from a couple guys at church) The funny thing was with that mix, I found myself skipping the rap songs and basically just listening to those MxPx and Green Day songs. Shortly after I bought Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo by MxPx, and had my first favorite band. That also got me into the punk/pop-punk scene. Not too long after I had converted Jason and eventually Andrew, and pretty soon we were going to concerts. MxPx, Ataris, Millencolin, Taking Back Sunday, Midtown, Less Than Jake, Brand New, etcetera. Lots of concerts; lot's of mosh pits. Anyway, from that point on music became an important part of all of our lives. None of us listen to that old pop-punk sound these days quite like we used to, but I still love to throw in an old album from 10th grade, scream the music at the top of my lungs and remember all the good times that music helped provide. These days I would say my musical interests lie over a much broader spectrum from indie to hip-hop to experimental to hardcore. In fact I don't like to hole myself into musical categories because I'm open to "good" music regardless of the category it might fall in. I used to be much more of a musical snob or elitist while now I've come to the realization that if you're going to look down on someone just because they haven't heard of some obscure band or because they listen to music on the radio, you really are saying less about your musical tastes and more about the fact that you have a superiority complex. It seems like music snobs care more about laughing at other people's music than enjoying their own. I personally don't care what other people listen to as long as I can listen to what I like in peace.

Okay. So over the years there have been some albums I've come across that I have never gotten tired of. I don't know what it is about these albums, but when I have nothing else that sounds good, one of these always will. And it's not necessarily that these are the best albums that I know about, some of them might not be as amazing as other ones in my collection, they are just more tireless. There are plenty of albums not listed that I think are great, so complex and well thought out, beautifully performed and executed and everything. But I just can't listen to it every day. So don't think of this list as my all-time favorite albums. This is just a list of the albums that, as of right now, I never seem to get tired of and can leave playing in my car for days on end.

1. mewithoutYou - Brother, Sister (indie rock, 2006)

Despite all that I just said, mewithoutYou is actually my very favorite band and this is my favorite album. The lyrics are so ridiculously good, the music is so unique and surprisingly catchy (but might be hard for some to get in to), and every song really speaks to me on a personal level. The album deals with things like faith, God, free-will, doubt, redemption, and more. I think you either "get it" or don't, but with this half-shouting, stream-of-consciousness style, these guys have created a truly unique, satisfying, and enjoyable album that flows perfectly. "Some individual songs like 'A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains' make me want to punch a wall and scream in the choruses, but then sing and dance along in the verses."

2. William Fitzsimmons - Goodnight (folk, 2006)

This is the alum I was listening to when I got the idea for this list. One thing about me is I love exquisitely sad music. And this acoustic, mellow, whispery collection of songs is certainly sad. The whole album deals with the pain caused by family falling apart. Some people will no doubt be turned off by such a sad inspiration, but it really is beautifully done. The pain the singer sings of feels so authentic that you can't help but empathize. And to be honest it leaves me aware of that pain all while making me love my family even more. And sometimes brokenness is a great place to find hope.

3. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (progressive rock, 1995)

More sadness? Yes and no. This album embodies countless different moods and sounds as you go through the two discs and 28 songs, from the piano intro to orchestral tones, churning grooves, whiny petulance, and new wave sound. Billy Corgan's voice might not be for everyone, but to me this album is truly fantastic. Every needed detail is there, and the variety keeps me from ever getting tired of it.

4. New Found Glory - Coming Home (pop-punk, 2006)

It's hard to pinpoint what it is about this album. I'm as surprised as you are about having a New Found Glory album on this list. But though their last three or so albums have been all but ignored by me, there's something about this one that keeps me coming back. I guess it feels more mature than their old TRL stuff in a way that is catchy without seeming to care about radio accessibility, and without forcing it's sugar-coated melodies down the throat of anybody in the vicinity. The lyrics reflect a happier more content group and are no longer about high school drama but deal more with families and marriages and kids. There is still some heartache too but it's more mature and the album manages to stay energetic and naturally fun. His voice is still intrinsically nasally but without the sugary edge, so it sounds fuller and is easier to handle. But make no mistake, this is still a New Found Glory album, full of melody and personality. All the best attributes of their earlier work are there and presented in a way that grows more memorable with each listen.

5. Kanye West - College Dropout (hip hop/rap, 2004)

As West has grown to international stardom, I can't help but think he has yet to top his debut grammy-hogging album. The album poses ethical questions about poverty, the black community, education, and even religion. But really, I like it because his lyrics are thoughtful, provocative, sometimes funny, the songs make me want to sing along, the beats are innovative, and it tells a story. It's personal, and therefore relatable and enjoyable.

Honorable mentions: Thrice - Artist In The Ambulance; The Format - Interventions and Lullabies; Brand New - Deja Entendu.

and so it begins

2008-11-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

I don't know what to blog about anymore. And I think other people may be feeling the same way because it seems like most of my blogging friends have slowed down considerably. I could write about sports but that is just too depressing with Seattle's current state (how are the Silvertips doing I wonder?). I could write about politics but thank God that's kind of over at least for a little bit. I could write about my life but lately it has been kind of boring. I'm still doing my best as a substitute teacher. Still uncertain of what I'm going to do in the future. Still no lady friends in the picture. I could write about religion but feel somewhat hypocritical when I do that. However, I have discovered this thing called Post-Modern Christianity and I am really liking it. Pretty much everything I've been thinking about with regards to Christianity is covered. Here I thought I was one of the few, only to find out it's a whole movement. Anyway I get to discuss it in sunday school once a week at Nampa First Church at 10:45. One of my favorite times of the week. When I have a better grasp maybe I will write about it.

Well with a serious lack of anything substantial to write about, I suppose I'll just leave you with some funny stuff I have found lately.

This is a very funny article about the Oklahoma City THHUUUUNNNNDDDDEEEERRRRRR...

This is an even funnier email correspondence between a man and his bank

and for those of you who don't like to read... here are some always funny news stories.

"This here wards off spells..."

"That's only in the mornin!"
(watch when Bubb Rubb and Lil' Sis drive off)

Enjoy the weekend!

Glutton of Sympathy

2008-10-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Bobby's latest post to share the place where I stole my blog name from. He stole his from a Dave Chapel routine. I stole mine from a pretty sweet song from the early 90s called Glutton of Sympathy by Jellyfish. This video contains that song in case you wanted to hear it.

the no seatbelt blog

2008-10-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Does anyone think that it is kind of ridiculous that we are forced by law to wear our seatbelts? I think it is for a few reasons.

A. It really should be the individual person's decision. Why in the world would it be the government's business whether or not you wear a seatbelt? The are protecting you? That's the same reasoning that the government uses in Fahrenheit 451 to make books illegal. If you were putting other people in danger then it makes sense, but no you are just making a personal decision.

B. Letting people make their own decisions about their safety, especially in the seatbelt game, is a way of making the world safer. Think about it. If everyone who is stupid enough not to wear a seatbelt while they are driving a 6,000 lb giant metal machine up to speeds 70+ miles per hour with other equally as dangerous machines being driven just as fast all around you dies in a car crash, then we are better off without them. It was natural selection that helped our society get as advanced as it is. We shouldn't need a bunch of people wasting their time and our resources running around making sure people actually do something as simple as putting on a seatbelt. Especially when there are real problems out there. If we fight to keep those genes in our gene-pool, we are fighting to keep progress in our society stagnant.

C. It's ironic. Who in their right mind thinks it is a good idea to spend so much effort fighting against those evil non-seatbelt wearers, when it is perfectly legal for other people to ride motorcycles. In many states it's not even required for motorcyclists to wear helmets, but they are still enforcing the seatbelt law in that same state (cough, cough, Idaho, cough). In some states it's even legal for motorcyclists to ride in middle between two lanes. So let me see if I have this straight, the government has decided to crack down on seatbelt wearing, while they have no problem with people riding the most dangerous vehicle ever invented, and in some cases, either relaxing the safety rules for those people, or just creating altogether new road rules specific to those dangerous vehicles that make riding them even more dangerous.

Hmmm... are they really concerned with safety? Or is it just a good easy way for them do a little more fundraising? At this point it's hard to know what the intentions are. All I know is last week I got a ticket for not wearing my seatbelt. Who did I get it from? A motorcycle cop.

"It loved to happen." -Marcus Aurelius

2008-10-22T01:35:00.000-07:00

I re-read Catcher In The Rye a few months ago. I loved it even more the second time. So I decided to read some more by J.D. Salinger. Other than Catcher In The Rye, he really only wrote short stories that were usually published in the New Yorker back in the old days. (I think the fifties) His stories are often about the Glass family, which is a fictional family he created. They are unique in that all seven of the kids were child geniuses (or at least very precocious), though his stories deal with them as adults and how they cope in the world and deal with their pasts. I started by reading "9 stories," which believe it or not is just nine short stories. At least three of them that I can think of deal directly with the Glass family. (though I didn't quite realize it at the time) I loved the short stories, they were perfection. I still find myself thinking about them quite often.

Next I read Franny and Zooey, which is about the two youngest Glass children, who at the time of the book are 20 and 25 respectively. The Glass kids, along with Salinger, have very interesting religious beliefs. In Franny and Zooey, Zooey talks about how when he and Franny were just kids, their oldest brothers, Seymour and Buddy, imposed their college-age infatuation with Eastern mysticism and gave them impossibly high standards, turning them into misanthropic "freaks." At one point they are talking about why everything is so phony and nothing is good enough, and Zooey says: "It's us," Zooey repeated, overriding her. "We're freaks, that's all. Those two bastards got us nice and early and made us into freaks with freakish standards, that's all. We're the Tattooed Lady, and we're never going to have a minute's peace, the rest of our lives, till everybody else is tattooed, too." Anyway, he is coming to terms with it while his sister Franny's complaints about how her professors, and every college student Harvard wannabe, and really the whole institution of higher learning is just so fake an unsubstantial, and she can't stand it. While Zooey knows where she's coming from, this kind of thought process worries him. Also she read this book that once belonged to their older (deceased) brother Seymour, about the Jesus Prayer. The idea of the Jesus Prayer is a simple prayer that you are to pray constantly in order to fulfill the command of the Bible to "pray without ceasing." And though at first it may be hard, eventually it will bring peace, understanding, oneness with God, etc. The prayer is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It is big in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The book she read is about a Pilgrim who set out say the Jesus Prayer constantly, and in the end found enlightenment, basically. Her treatment of everything and her interest in the Jesus Prayer concerns Zooey for several reasons and he ends up confronting Franny. He's not exactly tender with his words either. Though afterwords he pretty much apologizes for scolding her in what I consider to be a really beautiful make up scene and ending to the book. Ahh I just wish you'd read it! Even though I hardly agree with most of the religion points of view in Salinger's books, they still fascinate me. And in this snipped I've chosen for you (Zooey talking to Franny about the Jesus Prayer) I think he says some really interesting things. Worth reading.

As a side note, I think I've discovered something about my reading preferences. I don't care that much about plot. I don't care to read about some guy who has to do something, then there's a plot twist and he has to do something else, and then there's a girl who gets in his way but they end up falling in love and saving the day or the court case or solving the mystery, etc. And even less specific than that, I'm just not all that interested in people doing things. I like books that are about interesting people. Character interaction and development. People who have ideas, whether crazy and off-path, or genius and something I wish I'd thought of. Any unusual, new, different, or somehow refreshing point of view. Don't know if there's a technical name for that kind of preference, but just to warn you, probably most books I recommend are going to have more to do with intriguing characters and their thoughts and interactions than some crazy plot.

I take some of that back. I do enjoy a good Agatha Christie mystery. But that's more for the thinking it involves, AND I love the investigator character, Hercule Paroit, and his wackiness. And I always look forward to his interactions and thoughts, and getting inside his head a little bit. Get the picture?

Okay, on to Zooey, Franny, and the Jesus Prayer. By the way, this might seem a little long. It's just so hard to edit anything out. I wanted to just type the whole last 20 pages. I'm also a little worried that this snippet will misrepresent the content of the book. Just know the whole thing is not only about religion. (though it does play a big part) I just wanted to share the religion portion because I feel like I, and some of my readers, may be interested in it. And I found it quite enjoyable and refreshing to read Zooey bemoaning the training and teaching that Buddy and Seymour have given him, it's one of the few times Salinger actually speaks against the eastern ideas that he usually advocates.

The book though (to me at least) is much more about family, as dysfunctional as it may be. How smart, bossy, loud, egotistical, elitist members of this family stay family despite all that. And like I said, the ending is really beautiful. I want to describe it all or type it all out, but that would really ruin the book. And I'd much rather you read it on your own! Also if you like short stories, you've got to give Nine Stories a shot.

Ooh. I just found a much more concise summary of the book on Amazon. Thought I'd share for some reason. "The stories, originally published in The New Yorker magazine, concern Franny and Zooey Glass, two members of the family that was the subject of most of Salinger's short fiction. Franny is an intellectually precocious late adolescent who tries to attain spiritual purification by obsessively reiterating the "Jesus prayer" as an antidote to the perceived superficiality and corruptness of life. She subsequently suffers a nervous breakdown. In the second story, her next older brother, Zooey, attempts to heal Franny by pointing out that her constant repetition of the "Jesus prayer" is as self-involved and egotistical as the egotism against which she rails."

Okay sorry I got distracted, here it is:

"No matter what I say, I sound as though I'm undermining your Jesus Prayer. And I'm not, God Damn it. All I am is against why and how and where you're using it. I'd like to be convinced--I'd love to be convinced--that you're not using it as a substitute for doing whatever the hell your duty is in life, or just your daily duty. Worse than that, though, I can't see--I swear to God I can't--how you can pray to a Jesus you don't even understand. And what's really inexcusable, considering that you've been funnel-fed on just about the same amount of religious philosophy that I have--what's really inexcusable is that you don't try to understand him. There'd be some excuse for it if you were either a very simple person, like the pilgrim, or a very goddam desperate person--but you're not simple, buddy, and you're not that damned desperate." Just then, for the first time since he had lain down, Zooey, with his eyes still shut, compressed his lips--very much, as a matter of parenthetical fact, in the habitual style of his mother. "God almighty, Franny," he said. "If you're going to say the Jesus Prayer, at least say it to Jesus, and not St. Francis and Seymour and Heidi's grandfather all wrapped up into one. Keep him in mind if you say it, and him only, and him as he was and not as you'd like him to have been. You don't face any facts. This same damned attitude of not facing facts is what got you into this messy state of mind in the first place, and it can't possibly get you out of it."

Zooey abruptly placed his hands over his now quite damp face, left him there for an instant, then removed them. He refolded them. His voice picked up again, almost perfectly conversational in tone. "The part that stumps me, really stumps me, is that I can't see why anybody--unless he was a child, or an angel, or a lucky simpleton like the pilgrim--would even want to say the prayer to a Jesus who was in the least bit different from the way he looks and sounds in the New Testament. My God! He's only the most intelligent man in the Bible, that's all! Who isn't he head and shoulders over? Who? Both Testaments are full of pundits, prophets, disciples, favorite sons, Solomons, Isaiahs, Davids, Pauls--but, my God, who besides Jesus really knew which end was up? Nobody. Not Moses. Don't tell me Moses. He was a nice man, and he kept in beautiful touch with God, and all that--but that's exactly the point. He head to keep in touch. Jesus realized there is no separation from God." Zooey clapped his hands together--only once, and not loud, and very probably in spite of himself. His hands were refolded across his chest almost, as it were, before the clap was out. "Oh, my God, what a mind!" he said. "Who else, for example, would have kept his mouth shut when Pilate asked for an explanation? Not Solomon. Don't say Solomon. Solomon would have had a few pithy words for the occasion. I'm not sure Socrates wouldn't have for that matter. Crito, or somebody, would have managed to pull him aside just long enough to get a couple well-chosen words for the record. But most of all, above everything else, who in the Bible besides Jesus knew--knew--that we're carrying the Kingdom of Heaven around with us, inside, where we're all too goddam stupid and sentimental and unimaginative to look? You have to be a son of God to know that kind of stuff. Why don't you think of these things? I mean it, Franny, I'm being serious. When you don't see Jesus for exactly what he was, you miss the whole point of the Jesus Prayer. If you don't understand Jesus, you can't understand his prayer--you don't get the prayer at all, you just get some kind of organized cant. Jesus was a supreme adept, by God, on a terribly important mission. This was no St. Francis, with enough time to knock out a few canticles, or to preach to the birds, or to do any of the other endearing things so close to Franny Glass's heart. I'm being serious now, God damn it. How can you miss seeing that? If God had wanted somebody with St. Francis's consistently winning personality for the job in the New Testament, he'd've picked him, you can be sure. As it was, he picked the best, the smartest, the most loving, the least sentimental, the most unimitative master he could have possibly picked. And when you miss seeing that, I swear to you, you're missing the whole point of the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer has one aim, and one aim only. To endow the person who says it with Christ-Consciousness. Not to set up some little cozy, holier-than-thou trysting place with some sticky, adorable divine personage who'll take you in his arms and relieve you of all your duties and make all your nasty Weltschmerzen and Professor Tuppers go away and never come back. And by God, if you have intelligence enough to see that--and you do--and yet you refuse to see it, then you're misusing the prayer, you're using it to ask for a world full of dolls and saints and no Professor Tuppers." He suddenly sat up, shot forward, with an almost calisthenic-like swiftness, to look at Franny. His shirt was, in the familiar phrase, wringing wet. "If Jesus had intended the prayer to be used for--"

Zooey broke off.

Rosa Parks didn't call shotgun

2008-10-22T00:34:00.001-07:00

This is kind of dirty so hopefully my mom doesn't watch it. And of course by writing that she will now of course have to watch it, where as if I hadn't said anything she probably never would have gotten around to it.

Anyway I just discovered this guy, he's got some pretty clever lines, though most of his other stuff is dirtier than this. Apparently he's been an internet sensation for a while so you probably have already seen this. But just in case....

Spoken Word - Hollywood Improv

Soon to follow, a more all-ages appropriate blog. I promise.

Slaughter Hizzy

2008-10-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I always liked this little snippet from Slaughter-House 5. I've posted this other places before so it may be nothing new.

The visitor from outer space made a serious study of Christianity, to learn, if he could, why Christians found it easy to be cruel. He concluded that at least part of the trouble was slipshod storytelling in the New Testament. He supposed that the intent of the Gospels was to teach people, among other things, to be merciful, even to the lowest of the low.
But the Gospels actually taught this:
Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn't well connected. So it goes.

The flaw in the Christ stories, said the visitor from outer space, was that Christ, who didn't look like much, was actually the Son of the Most Powerful Being in the Universe. Readers understood that, so, when they came to the crucifixion, they naturally thought:
Oh, boy--they sure picked the wrong guy to lynch that time!
And that thought had a brother: "There are right people to lynch." Who? People not well connected. So it goes.

The visitor from outer space made a gift to Earth of a new Gospel. In it, Jesus really was a nobody, and a pain in the neck to a lot of people with better connections than he had. He still got to say all the lovely and puzzling things he said in the other Gospels.
So the people amused themselves one day by nailing him to a cross and planting the cross in the ground. There couldn't possibly be any repercussions, the lynchers thought. The reader would have to think that, too, since the new Gospel hammered home again and again what a nobody Jesus was.
And then, just before the nobody died, the heavens opened up, and there was thunder and lightning. The voice of God came crashing down. He told the people that he was adopting the bum as his son, giving him the full powers and privileges of The Son of the Creator of the Universe throughout all eternity. God said this: From this moment on, He will punish horribly anybody who torments a bum who has no connections!

-Kilgore Trout in Slaughter-House 5

On that note, I'm out.

a quote

2008-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

"There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers."
- Richard Feynman

what economic turmoil are you talkin' about?

2008-10-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

Don't worry. Yes it's true our economy is in shambles. The dow is down like over 1,000 points. More and more people with degrees are being forced to take jobs that are typically reserved for teens and underachievers at places like McDonald's and Starbucks. The housing market is almost non-existent. We've got empty houses everywhere while people are being evicted and forced to live on the streets. Fourteen commercial banks have gone bust so far this year. (Including my precious WAMU) 33% of Americans said they believed the country was in a depression. Oil has plummeted by about $15 dollars a barrel. $700 billion is being spent to save some greedy people. Etcetera etcetera etcetera...

But like I said don't worry. The Mariners still have 116 million dollars that I'm sure they're putting to good use.

pitfalls pt. 6

2008-10-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

8.Get tricky subjects to agree with their verbs

Certain annoying words are usually singular but sometimes plural.

RIGHT The committee has approved expenditure of $700,000,000,000.
(Singular, because all the people on the committee acted as one.)

RIGHT BUT SEEMS WRONG The committee have gone on holiday.
("Committee" is plural here, because the people acted as separate individuals.)
EASY FIX The committee members have gone on holiday.

Some subjects seem plural but in certain kinds of sentences are really singular. Trust your instinct. Write what you'd say when talking.

RIGHT Ten dollars is plenty.
RIGHT Two litres is a lot to drink.

Sometimes the subject of a sentence has two parts: a singular phrase and a plural phrase. Again, write exactly what you would say.

Provided English is your first language, your instinct will usually be correct. You'll naturally match the verb to the phrase immediately before it - in which case the grammar will be correct.

RIGHT Neither the topsoil nor the plants have arrived.
RIGHT Neither the plants nor the topsoil has arrived.

Channelling Mr. Naff

2008-09-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

I know you have all been waiting reverently for my next blog. My next masterpiece if you will. Well truth be told there has been quite a bit going on these last few days in my neck of the woods. Please observe.

I have started a new profession. One which I am attempting to redefine the roles of. I am now, as many of you know, a substitute teacher. Considering I can't really think of any subs I had in high school or middle school that I particularly enjoyed, I had this idea of being the "cool" sub. You know the one that all the kids are begging to have and all the teachers are knocking down the door to request for their classroom. A bit lofty, I'm aware, but never-the-less I set out to achieve this task. I have subbed for all age levels, from kindergarten to seniors in high school. My favorite has really been middle school. At my age it's a little easier to feel in control when it's 13 and 14 year olds as opposed to 17 and 18 year olds. And elementary kids are too fragile for me. Though I did actually quite enjoy my time at Pepper Ridge Elementary. But I digress.

I figured that if the kids were really going to grow to adore me as a sub, they would have to have a way to remember me. I needed a trademark. I glanced in my little bag-o-tricks and decided I could produce some literary inspired drawings for the class, which could be both fun and slightly educational. After a quick brain storming session I decided I had to start this plan with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis. (part of the Narnia series for those not in the know) I printed off an illustration from the original book, headed to Eagle Middle School and during my first period prep period I got to work. This was my second time with this class so we already had a little rapport.

After fielding about 200 "did you draw thats?" and saying another 200 "thank you"s for all the compliments, I have to say I think it was a good first step. Even though I haven't had the chance to do another drawing at that school, I did sub again for PE and tons of the kids remembered me as the guy who can draw. Most of them were quite excited to have me again, were very proud to remind me and tell their friends that they knew me, and I even had some kids who had heard of me from their friends. Several kids were also requesting me and my drawings to return to their classroom again. So I'm inclined to think that my "trademark" plan is starting to work. Even though very few of them had actually read the Voyage, I would consider it a success if even just one of them gave it a shot.

Later, I had an English job at Lake Hazel Middle School, so I decided to go with a little Lewis Carroll and draw the Mad Hatter. Once again I printed off an illustration from the book (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and headed to class. I was lucky to get another 1st period prep so I had plenty of time to work on it. I spent a good 45 min and got a drawing I liked. Once again I think it was a pretty great success. The pinnacle of this success was when the kids were done with their test and they were working silently at their desks, I walked around and noticed two kids trying to reproduce my drawing on the board! It was pretty cool to see kids at least partially interested in art. And who knows, maybe some will pick up the book too. I haven't been able to get back to Lake Hazel Middle School yet, but I'm looking forward to it and seeing what the reaction is, if there is any at all, or if it is as positive as it was at Eagle Middle. But I'm pretty confident it will be good.

Other things I have learned that could serve as a caveat to any potential subs is you can't be really liked and respected by the kids if you're just a pushover and let them get away with whatever. Also that won't get you on any teacher's good sides either. I'm not 100% sure what the key is, as I'm still on the path to being the coolest sub ever. But I have learned that you have to be able to be mean and follow through on threats if you ever want to earn the kids' respect. Also you have to give them some respect as well. It's a give and take relationship.

So despite all the horror stories and warnings, I am actually loving this job. It's something new every day, it's super flexible, pays okay, and if everything is going wrong and class is out of control, well they'll be gone and you'll have a new class in 45 minutes anyway.

Well I better get to bed as I have got to get up to teach P.E. tomorrow. I was specifically requested by this P.E. teacher too, so I'm starting to gain some respect from some teachers as well which is encouraging.

Hope all your jobs are going well too!

Basketball Blues

2008-09-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Okay I'll admit it, I'm a bit of an elitist. But it makes me angry when I go to open gym, which is usually the highlight of my week, and there are 25+ guys trying to play on one court. It is very frustrating when I have to sit out three games because there are old foggies, bad players, slow pokes, bank-shot three point shooters, and a tiny girl who thinks she can guard full sized men, all playing instead of me. Open gym really needs to have a league for people who are actually good at basketball (not saying I'm amazing, but I'm pretty sure I could make the cut) and another time for people who think they are good but are really just getting in my way. Haha.

I guess it's just a disappointment; I might have to find a new open gym. But this one in the past has been so good, usually good to really good players, not too ball-hoggy, fast paced, and so on. I guess it was too good because now everyone and their ex-roommate comes.

Sorry for ranting. I guess the worst part is when these people that should be in the B league keep winning while I go all night without a single win! There is no justice!

Alex Haley has nothing on these

2008-09-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

My Alaskan Roots

Thought I'd share some family pics that Monika forwarded to me. These are from a family reunion up in Big Lake, Alaska a few months ago. If only these pics could do my family justice.

Good ole Grandpa Smith and Uncle Calvin.

Joe and me, two relatively adjusted smiths, and then there's cousin Blaine.

And back to "normal."

My cousin Monika taking a moment to relish her genes. (With gramps.)

My mother and her brother. (Uncle Matt, aka Master of Puns)

I might have mentioned, her brother and tormentor.

yo holmes, smell ya later

2008-09-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Smells don't really bother me too much. In fact I would say I have a high tolerance for bad smells. I can pretty much tell my brain to ignore the smell, and it does.

All that being said, there is one smell that I can't stand and that is the smell of rotten eggs. It's just this seeping, nasty smell that doesn't hit you as much in the nose as it does in the pit of your stomach. It's usually not the kind of overpowering smell that hits you all at once and makes you gag for a few seconds until you've moved on, but its a constant, lingering, persistent foulness that leaves an all too lasting impression on your nostrils and brain alike.

Last night Nampa smelled like rotten eggs.

Martha Stewart

2008-09-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else amazed that the fox we all know and love as Martha Stewart is 67 years old?!

Election Thoughts.

2008-09-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

"I'd much rather be a republican than a democrat. In fact, I've been a republican my whole life. But I haven't voted for a republican since Nixon."
-Grandpa Johnson

Like everyone else, I've been forced to actually think about and form an opinion on the upcoming election. I've thought about it quite a bit, and while at first I was completely undecided, and even leaning towards Obama a little bit (actually originally I was kind of leaning towards Hil-Clint), there have been some things bothering me about the democrat's side.

This election appears to be one of some serious double-standards. The democrats are freaking out because Sarah Palin has relatively little experience, and, should McCain die in office, would actually be the next President. Which admittedly seems like a realistic possibility. The thing I don't understand is if the democrats are so worried about experience, how can they then back up Barrack Obama who in some ways has less experience than Gov. Palin? Yes if McCain is elected there is a 30% chance he dies and the inexperienced Palin would be president. But if Obama is elected, it seems to me that there is a 100% chance that the inexperienced Obama would be president. It seems highly unlikely then, that the democrats can really be worried all that much about experience. Otherwise, why not go with Hilary? Maybe democrats are really against women.

Of course, the republicans are also pulling the experience card. Theirs is only slightly more forgivable. If experience is truly what you are concerned about, would you rather have an inexperienced president or vice president? Because clearly inexperience is inevitable, and McCain is about as experienced as you can ask for going into the Presidency. Also some would say that being a governor is much more similar to presidential duties than being a senator is. At least as a governor you are the head of a state instead of a junior senator: a little part of a big group of people that sit around and talk a lot. And further still, some would say, in her limited experience Palin has actually got stuff done, fought corruption, seen results, etc. While Obama has only vaguely talked about his dream of hope and change. Of course Palin and Obama's combined years of "experience" at these levels totals like 5 years, which is less than the amount of time John McCain spent being tortured as a prisoner of war.

Also I saw this ad that talked about how similar Obama is to Abraham Lincoln. Apparently everyone said that both Obama and Honest Abe were unprepared and basically neither of them had much experience in politics. The ad is itself reinforcing Obama's inexperience, but because Lincoln turned out pretty good so will Barrack Obama. That's the gist. I find it surprising that after getting behind an ad like that, they can turn around and fuss at the Republican VP's inexperience.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuVNZPoVPYg)

All these inconsistencies lead me to believe that there are other factors truly at the heart of the matter.

It worries me a little bit that Obama has a secret plan to end the war. He told Bill O'Reilly, who is very annoying, that he didn't want to tip off his plan with how to deal with Iran and their potential nuclear threat. But he did promise that he wouldn't take the military option off the table, whatever that means. And while I am not sure either side really knows what to do, at least the republicans have laid out their plan, and gone as far as to say we should stop giving money to countries who don't like us anyway. (!)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luA0AMP51Gc)

Finally, it also worries me that celebrities and the whole hollywood culture are so united in their approval of Barrack Obama. In general I feel like celebs are not always the most reasonable, down-to-earth people. Just because their fame gives them a platform, it doesn't mean that I think their opinion should have more influence on the rest of America then say, the policies and stances on the issues of the presidential candidates. In fact, I generally disagree with the things that Hollywood supports, like Uggs and Anorexia.

All that being said, I am fully aware of how much of a disaster these last 8 years have been. How our international image has been forever tarnished (though Germany seemed to rebound pretty well, and we haven't even tried to take over the world yet), and how we're fighting in a place where we do not belong at all, etcetera. I do want change.

McCain, "The Original Maverick," might actually restore the republican party. He has usually been strongly disliked by the evangelical rightist voters because he hasn't been anchored to the tenets of the party, their stances and policies. You might say he's "conservative" but not "a conservative." In order to have a successful run at the presidency it appears he has toned down his maverick-like nature a bit. But once he's elected, if he's even half the McCain he has been, it would seem like the evangelicals would almost have to start another party or something in order to impose their will. In my opinion the evangelicals and their irrationally blind and fervent dedication to the party and what they think is best has given the republicans a bad name and image and recent history. So it would be interesting to see how the party would change to say the least.

Overall, I'm still on the fence. This report might seem heavily slanted to McCain, but honestly I'm still trying to work things out. I am looking forward to the debates, which I'm hoping will help me decide.

Over and Out.

John McCain meets Sigmund Freud

2008-09-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

You might want to reconsider your allegiance to McCain. (if you had one)

AND...

2008-09-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I also learned that the worst time to ride is dusk. Unless of course you enjoy being bathed in bug guts.

Some things I have learned

2008-09-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

I have learned many things these last few weeks. For example, Blogger is the 12th most visited website in the U.S., right behind Craigslist.

But today I learned that 86 degrees with an ever-so-slight breeze is about the best motorcycle riding conditions that one could ask for. Perfection.

pitfalls pt. 5

2008-09-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

7. Each and every one is singular
This requires some tricky footwork.

When we use words like "each", "every", "everybody","nobody" or "anybody", we're thinking about a number of people or things. But all those words are grammatically singular: they refer to just one person or thing at a time.

And unfortunately, if you change the verb to correct the grammar, you create a pedantic phrase like "he or she" or "his or her".

EASY FIX
Don't struggle over the grammar. Instead, make your point some other way.

WRONG Everyone must clean their shoes.
RIGHT BUT FUSSY Everyone must clean his or her shoes.
RIGHT All guests must clean their shoes.
RIGHT You must clean your shoes.

WRONG Each invoice must have "PAID" stamped over their number.
RIGHT Each invoice must have "PAID" stamped over its number.
RIGHT Each invoice must have "PAID" stamped over the number.

"Neither" and "either" present a similar problem.

WRONG Neither of my shirts were clean.
RIGHT BUT TRICKY Neither of my shirts was clean.
RIGHT Both my shirts were dirty.
RIGHT I didn't have a clean shirt.

the battle

2008-09-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

You may know Neil Allender. He is a friend of mine, a very smart guy, and a really cool dude. He wrote a blog about a year ago which I have never forgotten and re-read often. I hope he doesn't mind me reposting it, and you can find the original here. But it is a really interesting way of looking at Christianity and definitely worth a read.

Picture that scene at the end of the movie when the oppositely aligned twins finally face off. But this time they are triplets each named World. The only way to differentiate which is which is to know who their crew is, but we did not see the whole movie so we cannot be certain. One of the Worlds is hanging out with this guy Kingdom and they are getting along famously but the other World drags the other World into the mix because he's got beef with Kingdom and knows the best way to hurt him is to mess up his friendship with the first World guy.

So… we have a protagonist Kingdom who's friendship with World is threatened by the other bad guy World who has coerced the other World to foul things up.

The confusion is just beginning because Kingdom is mute. He smoke signals his posse Family of God and we finally find out that the Kingdom MUST be the guy we are rooting for because he has a family ;P Family communicates with Kingdom somehow, nods his head, and flees the scene.

The brewing triplet quarrel escalates until… in marches Family with 5 dudes wearing Church t-shirts. They have at the triplets on behalf of Kingdom but somehow they get confused about the World identities and start thrashing different World characters. Family starts freaking out and pulls out the Church, cells his friend Accountability, and now there are 10 Churches, 5 pairs of 2.

"Onward!" cries Family, and the church heads back in there all armored up. The World that got drug into this quagmire sees the approaching Churches and says, "Whoa! What are you marching over me for I'm just here man!"

But the Churchies don't believe him so they start trying to separate the triplets by force to find out which one is to blame.

The Bad World whispers in Neutral World's ear, "They got your number." Naturally, he defends himself and takes out an Accountability in one blow. Church 5 finds himself stranded alone and takes off running for the hills. Bad World laughs and Good World starts to cry.

Not done yet.

All this is happening on your front lawn. The Neighbors come out and wonder what the heck is going on while the quarrel escalates.

Now the Neighbors are joining in our commotion, "Wrong World you fuddy-duddies!"

Mute Kingdom goes and starts waving his arms near an Orphan Neighbor but two pairs of Church are pissed at Neutral World for taking out one of their crew.

Family is like, "Uhhhh???"

And now some Churches are playing Bad World's game – without knowing. Good World can't find Kingdom amidst the chaotic shouting and is so depressed by the situation he's looking for a tree to hang himself on. The other two pairs of Churches go over to help him but one gets distracted and 'THUNK!!!' takes an arrow from Bad World who launched it from over Neutral World's shoulder. Kingdom starts doing back flips like an Olympic Floor Routine to get some attention but the casualty gets all the attention from the Churches and we've got war!

If this wasn't bad enough, 21st Century Christian comes out of baptismal waters and sees with new eyes what she has never seen before. She surveys everything and tries to stay out of the mess; "Is that Kingdom???" she says to herself while spying someone who (for all she could possibly know) looks like what Kingdom ought to look like near the Orphan Neighbor.

But a Church cries, "Where's Accountability!!!" and she gets dragged in.

The "ugh, sorry…." gesture from her doesn't make Orphan feel much better and now he starts throwing rocks at the Churches. Kingdom starts pounding his fist painfully into the ground hoping Judge will show up and set things straight. Family thinks, "Yeah, Judge, OK" and oh… there he goes off again.

Now you go out to get the morning paper, warm up your car, or say hello to Your Neighbor. To your left, on a lawn chair, reclining in swim trunks, is Enemy asking Your Neighbor, "Mojito or Margarita?"

A Church comes out of the milieu and slaps the drink out of Enemies hand saying, "Why do think the world is in such a mess, huh?", pointing to the commotion.

Enemy drops the drink and says, "Oh, you are SO right, Alcohol IS the Enemy. Lets go tell everyone."

Your other Neighbor comes out and says, "Hey, you're Christian right? I'd like to hear about that sometime, maybe over a beer." What do you do?

--

In our faith there are words and concepts they identify which are used in our everyday thoughts or conversations. You just read many of them; World, Enemy, Neighbor, etc…. These words are used to identify people, institutions, behaviors, concepts, attitudes, and outlooks as one thing or another: acceptable / unacceptable, appropriate / inappropriate, to be embraced / to be rejected. With them we determine how we are going to relate to people and institutions as well as how we will respond to behaviors, concepts, and motivations we encounter. These are distinctions.

Christian culture makes distinctions just like any other culture. Christian, are you sure you make distinctions in a manner consistent with how God has drawn His? You might be surprised; as the story just told illustrates. A story where some Churches cannot differentiate between battling the world and serving God's Kingdom, talking about the Enemy like it was a beverage and spending more time on each other than being concerned with those people whom God's Kingdom is concerned – like orphans – or neighbors. This story, unfortunately, is not far from real life.

pitfalls... pt. 4

2008-08-28T13:25:00.001-07:00

6. Me me me, not I myself
Psychological factors make this an extremely common error.

WRONG Please send a list of staff addresses to Paul and I.
RIGHT Please send a list of staff addresses to Paul and me.

EASY FIX
To check which is correct, remove the other person or people in the equation.
The right answer will then be obvious:

Please send a list of staff addresses to [REMOVE "Paul and"] me.

Many people try to avoid the issue by writing "myself" or "yourself".

That's equally bad, if not worse! It's grammatically wrong, and (oops!) is interpreted by some people as a sign of a poor education.

WRONG I'll send a list of staff addresses to Paul and yourself.
RIGHT I'll send a list of staff addresses to you and Paul.

"Myself" and "yourself" are correct in only two situations:

1. To emphasise or contrast: "Paul knows everyone, but I myself am new here." "Your sister has blue eyes, but you yourself have brown eyes."
2. When you're doing something to yourself: "I ask myself..." "You set high standards for yourself."

also

2008-08-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have added a cool new feature to my website that I'm pretty excited about. It is a page that I'll be updating with whatever new designs I've been working on. You are more than welcome to check them out, offer some input/critique, or just enjoy something else to waste some time on. You can find it through the "new stuff" button at www.peterjohnsondesign.com or go straight there at www.peterjohnsondesign.com/new. Yay!

pitfalls... pt. 3

2008-08-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

I noticed from my overwhelming lack of comments that this hasn't been my most popular string of posts. Then I realized you were all probably so busy taking notes and trying to apply it to your writing that you didn't have time to comment. So don't worry, I forgive you, and I will still finish the series.

5. They're 'Only' Wandering Adverbs...

So there is this little problem that can happen with using the word "only" in a sentence. The problem is that depending on where it is in the sentence it can change the whole meaning of the sentence. Naturally, confusion follows.

Only the text message caused the hurt feelings. (Nothing else caused the hurt feelings.)

The text message only caused the hurt feelings. (It didn't spoil the day.)

The text message caused only the hurt feelings. (It didn't cause anything else.)

The text message caused the only hurt feelings. (There were no other feelings hurt other than the ones hurt by the text message.)

Technically each sentence above is grammatically correct, and each has a different meaning. The problem is that the meanings can be confused very easily.

When you are speaking the tone of your voice conveys exactly what you mean regardless of where the "only" is. Therefore in conversation, it doesn't matter if "only" is in the "wrong" position. Indeed, the correct version often sounds klunky when you say it aloud.

The problem is when the same sentence is written, the position of the "only" does matter since there is no tone of voice on the page. But, when people do read it often times they imagine a tone of voice in their mind which can override the grammatical meaning of the sentence.

Unfortunately, you get no special grammar award for using the right grammar if people continue to misunderstand it. If you have any doubt at all, just use the following easy fix:

9 times out of 10 you can simply remove the word "only" from the sentence. The meaning will still be clear and you don't have to spend time agonizing over it.

The text message caused the hurt feelings.

Other wandering adverbs can also be difficult, e.g. "just", "still" and "even". Again, the simplest solution is to remove the word from the sentence.

pitfalls... pt. 2

2008-08-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

More fun grammar advice:

3. It's time for it

"It" can be a little difficult for some people when it comes to using "it" with an apostrophe. The most important thing to remember is that "its" and "it's" belong to two separate families. There's the family with apostrophes: he's, she's, it's. And the family without: his, her, its.

To check whether you need an apostrophe, run through the family tree.

He's fine. She's fine. It's fine. (Apostrophe required.)
His hat. Her hat. Its hat. (No apostrophe required.)

Another way to think about "it" is that with an apostrophe is always short for "it is" or "it has." The apostrophe turns the word into a contraction and is there to replace the missing letters.

4. Getting apostrophes down

This is a tough one sometimes. Do you say, "the student's education," or "the students' education"? Well it depends. A really easy way that I learned to get it right is to reverse the statement. Think about it in terms of "the education of the [.........]." Observe.

An apostrophe (or an apostrophe+s) goes after the exact word or phrase in the [brackets].

the education of the [student]
becomes: the [student]'s education

the education of the [students]
becomes: the [students]' education

the bikinis of the [babes]
becomes: the [babes]' bikinis

the fear of the [reaper]
becomes: the [reaper]'s fear

the playground of the [children]
becomes: the [children]'s playground.

Mull that one over. Until next time, stay sharp.

traps, pitfalls, dark roads we don't want to travel

2008-08-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

One thing that really bothers me is how terrible many people are when it comes to grammar and spelling. And while I make no claim to be perfect, at least I try and consider it important. If you don't think it's important just think about all the people who read everything you write on Facebook, Myspace, Blogger, etc. If you're struggling to write sentences that your eighth grade english teacher would have approved of, it's probably not going to make a very good impression on your friends/peers/co-workers/bosses et cetera. I'm certainly not accusing any of my blog readers of bad grammar; people smart enough to read this blog probably rarely struggle with menial grammar issues. I'm putting it out there just in case there is a struggling soul that happens to stumble across this page. So for your sake and mine, if not just a refresher course, I am going to do a series of common grammar pitfalls to be wary of.

1. Run-on sentences
Let me be the first to admit that I struggle with this one sometimes, and it can be tricky. But basically a run-on sentence is two (or more) sentences combined with a comma. What you need to remember here is that commas don't join sentences! In order to combine sentences you have to use words like "and", 'but", "or", 'yet "or "because". Or just use a period. Usually three or more sentences combined (even with the proper conjunction) is also considered a run-on.

RIGHT- Charles Barkley's footsies were cold. He decided not to call Dwayne Wade for help.
RIGHT- Charles Barkley's footsies were cold, but he decided not to call Dwayne Wade for help.
WRONG- Charles Barkley's footsies were cold, he decided not to call Dwayne Wade for help.

2. However
As a basic rule, adverbs are not supposed to join sentences. The biggest instigator of this classic crime is the fiendish word "however."

RIGHT- I had to pee terribly. However, all the bathrooms were occupied.
WRONG- I had to pee terribly, however, all the bathrooms were occupied.

The easiest fix is to alway put "However" with an accompanying comma at the beginning of a new sentence. That way it's sure to be right. If you use it in the middle of a sentence the chances of it being used wrong increase exponentially.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for more fun grammar lessons to come. Now I'm headed to the bathroom, because I have to pee terribly. (Notice how I put the because in there to avoid a run-on...)

-You a Yankee fan?

2008-08-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

-No, Baltimore.
-Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crow bar once a day.

How true, how true. I'm really not a Yankee or Baltimore fan though.One thing you may not know about me yet is that I am a big fan of old classic movies. So for your reading pleasure I thought I would highlight some of my favorites.

7. Broken Arrow (1950)

"Tom Jeffords tries to make peace between settlers and Apaches."
This may not be the greatest piece of filmmaking, acting, or script, but it was still entertaining, had great cinematography, and the social implications were fairly groundbreaking. Jimmy Stewart plays a scout who seeks to heal the divisions between the Apaches and white men and this movie was the first movie to portray the Native American Indian as a person of quality, esteem, and as fully human. The most interesting part of the movie isn't really the interracial (forbidden) relationship between Stewart and a Indian woman, but between him and Cochise, the chief, and the complexity of the characters as they struggle to understand and trust the different cultures.

6.Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

"Longfellow Deeds, a simple-hearted Vermont tuba player, inherits a fortune and has to contend with opportunist city slickers." Gary Cooper is great, the story is fun, it's better than the Adam Sandler version, but the main reason I'm listing it is because this movie literally invents the word "Doodle." And I love to doodle.

5. Citizen Kane (1941)

"Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance."
Okay this one is kind of obvious I guess because in 1997 and again in 2007 it was ranked the greatest movie of all time. I think that rating hurt the movie because people watched it with such high expectations and all they got was a seemingly basic, somewhat boring movie. I started off in the same boat; it wasn't until I watched a documentary on the movie that I really grew to appreciate the movie and it's innovation. Some of the more notable things are its use of "deep focus," it's one of the first films to use that where both the foreground and background are both in sharp focus. Another thing was the low angle shots (Welles actually dug holes in the ground to get the camera at ground level), special effects make-up, story-telling techniques, et cetera, et cetera... all things that movies use all the time today that had never been done before (like it was the first movie to start with the end and tell the story through flashbacks). So even if you don't love the movie, there's a lot to appreciate about it.

4. Inherit The Wind (1960)

"Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution."
I just watched this last night and I have to say I was supremely entertained. This is a fictional movie based on the famous Scopes monkey trial. True, it portrays fundamentalist Christians in a pretty ridiculous light, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't too far off. The main story of the movie was the importance or our freedom to think, which I definitely agree with. Spencer Tracy gives a superb performance as the defending attorney which is in itself worthy of putting the movie on the list. It criticizes willful ignorance and bigotry, and puts backwards country anachronisms back in the past where they belong.

3. Rear Window (1954)

"A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder."
Of the Alfred Hitchcock/Jimmy Stewart combos, this one is my fave! Plus Grace Kelly is a babe. It gets my famous three I's rating: Interesting, Intense, and Intriguing. Hitchcock draws the viewer in with this voyeuristic film: you spend the majority of the movie feeling like you're spying on the neighbors, seeing things you aren't supposed to see. Which is somewhat an examination of us as people. Why are we so obsessed with what we're not supposed to see (Myspace anyone?)? But of course it's also a thrilling mystery/crime flick. A great classic!

2. Casablanca (1942)

"Classic film set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications."
I hope that most of you have seen this movie already but if you haven't do yourself a favor and watch it. This movie is hard to categorize, which is part of its brilliance. It successfully combines romance, drama, terror, murder, character study, comedy and tragedy. The dialogue is unbeatable and perfectly delivered making it perhaps the most quotable movie ever. The performances by and chemistry between the main characters (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) are fantastic and the supporting cast is just as good, if not show-stealing. But more than all of that, the true beauty of this film is the inspiration or redemption that it offers to each viewer. "On some level, every character in the story receives the same kind of catharsis and their lives are irrevocably changed. Rick's is the most obvious in that he learns to live again, instead of hiding from a lost love." It might sound kind of corny but it really is good and the movie is definitely very re-watchable as there tons of subtle nuances to pick up each time you see it.

1. 12 Angry Men (1957)

"A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court."
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's simple but great. This is a courtroom drama with a twist, instead of following the actual trial you get to watch behind closed doors and follow the jury as they decide on the fate of the accused. In fact 99% of this movie takes place in one room, but a superb cast and excellent acting (led by Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb) make this film both exceedingly entertaining and rewarding. One of my favorite directors, Sidney Lumet, takes this film with just 12 people sitting in a room and turns it into an edge-of-your-seat masterpiece. Also the character development in the movie is ridiculous, considering it develops 12 believable, memorable and distinct characters. This sums up everything I love about film. Everything from a technical point of view to superb acting and a simple yet complex character driven story. It draws you in from the start and doesn't let you go until the end. A++++

a lifestyle change?

2008-08-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

As I was working away on a big project yesterday, I couldn't help but notice a radio advertisement/infomercial state that just by driving 55mph instead of 65mph you can get 30 more miles out of your tank. Soon thereafter I embarked on a trip down to Matt's house (which is about 20 miles down the freeway) in my car which was dangerously low on gas (already in the red). I decided to drive 55-60 mph instead of my normal 65-70 and see what I could squeeze out of it. When I started my journey I was worried that I might not be able to make it to Matt's house without stopping first and getting some of that sweet premium juice. Nevertheless, I put on some relaxing music and hunkered down in the rightmost lane never accelerating more than necessary, drove at a constant speeed and didn't pass any cars. (even when I was behind a motor-home) Let me tell you it's a whole other world in the right lane, people over there drive patiently and kindly and there's not pressure to go fast or get out of the way. It was surprisingly nice. Needless to say I made it to Matt's without problem. The true test came on the way home, I decided to go for it. I got back on the freeway at about 2 a.m., set the cruise control for 58mph and enjoyed a leisurely trip home. By the time I exited I was getting a little worried because I still had another 4-5 miles before I was at my house, but I was determined to make it without filling up. I patiently cruised on to highway 9 and up to Soper Hill rd, and eventually down 83rd and right up into my driveway. My car is now as low on gas as I believe it has ever been (I don't know what I'm going to do since there are no gas stations very near), but yesterday I embraced a new lifestyle. An attitude of patience, economics, and thriftiness. Will I faithfully continue in this new on-road manner? It's hard to say, but I think it is fair to say that at least I have been willing to embrace change, expand my horizons, contemplate new things and from that kind of willingness good things usually come.

global warming my eye

2008-07-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

So first off, I must apologize for my lack of blogging this July. I guess I have been away a lot. And maybe just lazy.

Second off, whatever happened to Global Warming? I was looking forward to that. I like warm weather and Lord knows Washington could use some more of it. So whuddaya know, this summer finally rolls around (after a freezing cold and way too long winter) in the middle of this global warming "crisis," and it's like the coldest summer I can remember. I was just at Creation in eastern Wa where it is normally so hot your face melts if you go outside and the weather was barely in the 80's. Then I come back to a wet and cool Seattle. It's the summer--I shouldn't have to wake up each morning and wonder if I should wear shorts or not. Maybe global warming isn't kicking in until the fall, in which case October better be blazing hot. It is afterall my birthday month.

the night is darkest just before the dawn

2008-07-19T01:14:00.000-07:00

So now my website is pretty much done. If you checked it out a few days ago when I wrote about it then you probably won't notice much change. I just fixed some glitches and put logos on there. Feels good to have that done, though I'm sure there are still tweaks to be done. There always are.

So I saw the new Batman movie last night (along with the rest of the world). I went to the 16 screen theater in Everett and by midnight they had sold enough tickets for the 12:01 showing that they were showing it on all 16 screens. In my limited big screen experience, I've never heard of or experienced that before. The movie itself was sweet as I'm sure you've heard. My favorite part was easily the "how about a magic trick?" scene. You'll know what I mean once you see it. The joker definitely stole the show, would have been a great recurring character.

I read somewhere that in order to prepare for the role, Heath Ledger shacked himself up in an apartment for a month developing The Joker's psychology and personality and everything. Weird... but that would explain why the character is so captivating and well-done. Anyway, good stuff. Let me know what you think.

which torso shall I wear today?

2008-07-17T00:16:00.001-07:00

So I came across this artist/illustrator named Marc Johns. He is great: unique, mellow, humorous. I have spent at least an hour looking at his flickr photostream page. Be sure to look through his faves, ink & drawing pieces, post-it note series, and mixed media.

I think my favorites might be the post-it series.

Also you can check out his website at www.marcjohns.com to see some more work and even buy prints or originals for what I consider to be quite cheap. There are a few I'm thinking about buying. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Good stuff.

Also check out his blog, http://draw.vox.com/.

"and that reminded me of a joke" - Uncle Calvin

2008-07-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

At 11:00am on last Thursday morning I thought I would be enjoying a nice weekend of productivity and warm weather. By 11:30 I had just gotten a plane ticket to Alaska that left 5 hours later. Within the next two hours I frantically did a small load of laundry, made the classic packing checklist, secured a ride to the airport, packed and left. Hello Alaska. Goodbye productivity and warm weather.

I got to come up for the Smith family reunion (my mom's side of the family). My grandpa had 20,000 frequent flyer miles that he graciously gave me in order for me to come up. And I'm so glad I took them. I have met lots of family members that I never knew (never knew existed for that matter) and met some really great and always strange people. It's not really fair because I can't effectively tell you about what my family is like. But imagine a group of jokesters, storytellers and pun-masters who all have an opinion (whether they know anything on the topic or not) and aren't afraid to share it. It's a crazy but fun, often bizarre time. If I ever need to introduce someone to the Smith family there is no better opportunity than the Smith family talent show. (A staple of our family reunions) It consisted half the time of great uncle Calvin randomly wandering up front to tell some confusing story that usually ended up being a joke of some kind, a segment where different groups randomly started singing their home state songs as a competition, ear-wiggling, cheerleading, a rap about rock climbing, and of course the group that ran up singing "row-row-row-your-boat" and "five little monkeys sitting on the bed" all while running around randomly. Plus much more. Anyway total family immersion, it would be simultaneously amazing and mind-blowing for a casual non-Smith observer. But definitely a good time.

Well now the reunion is officially over though there are plenty of people still here. I head home tomorrow back to the normal world. It's too bad, I'll miss the crazy Smiths.

Party, my house, be there.

2008-07-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello. I just got back from 5 or so days on the coast of Oregon. A little family vacation. All the family on my Dad's side got together at a nice house in a little town called Oceanside. The house was meant to sleep 12 but there were 20 of us there. And we were only supposed to have like 2 or 3 cars there but we had 5. What can I say? I live in a family of rebels. One of the highlights of the trip was that my dad and I rode our motorcycles there and back which was about 10 hours of the manliest male bonding that God ever devised. Seriously though it was sweet to be on your bike, cruising down the freeway or winding through the sinuous hwy 101 along the coast. I liked that almost as much as going to the Myrtlewood store. And all kidding aside, it was great to hang out with all my family for those days. They are a great family.

As for me, I have now officially made plans to start doing stuff. I've got a few things on the agenda. I realized I have way more crap than I need so I am going to try to sell a bunch of it on Craigslist. (Why hasn't the become a verb yet? I have a bunch of stuff so I'm going to Craigslist it) I have decided the only things I really want are my clothes, books, computer/printer, and my Seinfeld dvd collection. As far as I'm concerned everything else can go. Oh and my bicycle. I'm even considering selling my car though I don't know how smart that would be. Other than that I am filling out some job applications (it might be time to bite the bullet) and also going to be doing some freelance design work. So yeah I've got plenty of plans to be productive, who knows maybe it'll actually happen.

In case you didn't know, the Seattle Supersonics are no longer. Clay, Howard, and David: you're dead to me.

Well if you couldn't guess, I have got a super busy day ahead of me. I mean I only have like a week to get those three things done (which is a deadline I gave myself... ah the luxury of free rent and no job) So I better Craigslist at least one thing today or I might get behind schedule!

Also check out my recently redone website. (www.peterjohnsondesign.com) It's not %100 done and there are some glitches, but please I would love your thoughts and critiques of it.

my heart still hurts

2008-07-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

In Oklahoma City, Bennett announced the settlement to applause: "We made it. Congratulations.... The NBA will be in Oklahoma City next season, playing their games."

...

In a statement, Stern said he was "pleased" with the settlement and said the NBA still regards "Seattle as a first-class NBA city that is capable of serving as home for another NBA team."

Not cool.

in general

2008-06-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yes it's that time again. Time for generalizations and blanket statements. Time to lump a huge amount of people into one single group. Time to tell you that I strongly dislike drivers/owners of those big heavy-duty pickup trucks. In a time when gas prices are at an all-time high and the environment (may or may not be) at an all-time low, these people still feel the need to drive on the freeway as if they are in a Corvette. You could be going 15 mph over the speed limit and they will still come screaming up behind you, tailgate you for a while, then zip around you at 100 mph so impatiently that I feel like taking that shotgun I know they have under their seat and doing some damage with it. I understand that these people are dealing with a lot... I mean there's the obvious over-compensation and they are probably still trying to get over the fact that they will never get to play high school football again (unless they can find some loophole where 35 year old d-bags can get one more glory season in), and they are no doubt irked that they are stuck making payments on a $40,000 truck that gets zero miles to the gallon because they are so tuff and they have to make sure everyone sees it. I understand that some people need trucks, but I don't care. They all annoy me. That's right I said it.

apropos the rising gas prices

2008-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have (about a month ago) purchased a road bike and also (about 4 days ago) a motorcycle. Now when I eventually get a job and place to live I will have 3 choices for transportation. They are ranked in order of preference:

1. Bicycle
2. Motorcycle
3. Car

So I will only have to drive my expensively gas-guzzling car if I need to go somewhere where biking and motorcycling aren't an option. It's pretty cool.

new site

2008-06-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't done it yet but I'm working on a new website. I decided I don't like mine, and it takes too long to load. I'll let you know when it's up.

Movie Meme

2008-06-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

So apparently if you get tagged you are supposed to fill out this movie questionnaire. Kylee was kind enough to involve me (probably so she could make fun of the movies I see). Here goes nothing.

Move Meme?

1. One movie that made you laugh
UHF...classic

2. One movie that made you cry
Armageddon?

3. One movie you loved when you were a child
Robin Hood the disney version

4. One movie you’ve seen more than once
White Men Can't Jump (about once a year)

5. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it
8 Mile

6. One movie you hated
Cabin Fever

7. One movie that scared you
Requiem for a Dream

8. One movie that bored you
PS I Love You

9. One movie that made you happy
High Fidelity

10. One movie that made you miserable
21 Grams (I don't like getting that depressed in a movie)

11. One movie you weren’t brave enough to see
It

12. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with
Ziyi Zhang in House of Flying Daggers... shes so b.a. and yet still fragile. there might be a slight language barrier. ha.

13. The last movie you saw
Belly... ha ha look it up!

14. The next movie you hope to see
The Dark Knight

15. Your favorite movie
The Royal Tenenbaums

And if anyone reads this and wants to join the fun let me know and I'll pretend like I tagged you.

By the way, this reminds me of the old email forwarding days mixed with myspace bulletins. A little scary.

Just a ordinary cat, I'm into art and fuzzy rabbits, kinda smart with a big heart, you can have it

2008-06-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

I stay up too late and then sleep in all day. I need to get a job because I'm running out of money. Since graphic design hasn't been picking up I might try to pick up some hours at the GAP or pizza delivery or something just to get me by for a little bit. If nothing comes about by the end of summer then I'm going back to Boise. Boise is where the chicas are. Just kidding they are everywhere. With Alaska being the one exception. Girls are strange and possibly from Venus. It makes sense that they are on earth now, seeing that all the sulfuric acid makes it pretty hard to live on Venus. Speaking of Venus, how did the Lakers blow a 24 point lead to the Celtics. One word: Jesus. Okay two words: Ray Allen. And the Lakers kinda suck, save Kobe Bryant. No means no. Means no championship. Did anyone else notice that we are having the coldest/wettest spring of our lives? I didn't, I've been inside writing and reading blogs all month.

an obituary of sorts

2008-06-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

I almost always keep my toothbrushes for too long. Until they are pretty worn and bent out of shape. And it's not so much the fact that I'm trying to save money and use just one for as long as possible. No, I don't mind shelling out two or three dollars for a toothbrush. The thing is a good toothbrush becomes like a friend to me. I spend some of my most intimate moments every day with my toothbrush, and when I find a toothbrush that feels good in my hands and in my mouth, and cleans my teeth just how I like it, when I get comfortable with my toothbrush, then I don't want to get rid of it. But eventually, like all things, there comes a time when it gets too old. The bristles get a little too bent and just like that, before I've had the proper amount of time to grieve and cherish every last minute, I have no choice but to move on. So it's safe to say when I go toothbrush shopping I almost never go for the .79 cent Safeway bargain. No I look for something a little nicer, something that I know will last a little longer and be a little more comfortable. I'm not just shopping for a tool, I'm looking for a friend.

So it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to my toothbrush today. You have been with me through the good and the bad. Through stressful mornings to the latest nights. Through a senior show and all the work that entailed, sunday mornings with the grandparents, days waking up minutes before classtime, a breakup, a college graduation, a couple moves, and numerous road trips and adventures. Also, my tongue thanks you for always being kind and gracious to it as it has never gotten along better with a toothbrush. Just because you will be replaced physically does not mean you will be replaced in my heart. I will not soon forget you, friend.

thoughts in a jot note

2008-06-07T01:10:00.001-07:00

-ready for the rain to stop... i want to ride my bike again!

-almost done reading The Cross and the Switchblade, it is interesting definitely

-next book is the new Pistol Pete biography

-if you're looking to buy me a gift i want the book The Great Derangement

-couple of hopeful job opportunities so i'm crossing my fingers

-watched the latest Fantastic Four movie tonight... it was about what I expected

-I need to stop staying up so late... why does conan have to entice me?

-when is fathers day again?

-getting sick of my music but loving the shout out louds, and william fitzsimmons has been singing me to sleep lately

-went to portland yesterday and saw some good friends. what a crazy city.

-my brain is tired

I Love...

2008-06-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

I made this shirt. I have a feeling it could be a classic. If you know much about graphic design and typography you will probably get a kick out of it. Or if you're just a huge fan of Comic Sans. IF not you will probably just be really confused... either way buy one and be a part of the next big thing!

some great reads

2008-06-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

So I was talking to my friend Claire the other day about books and recommendations and how it is sometimes nice to get and give recommendations on books... which got me thinking. Sometimes it can be hard to know if a book is worth reading and sometimes you don't know what you should read next. And since no one cares about Oprah and her dumb book club, I thought perhaps I would let you know about some books that I would recommend to just about anyone. Move over Oprah.

6. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
This is principally a science-fiction/anti-war satire, but I think it is more than that. It explores the ideas of "fate, free-will, and the illogical nature of humans." This book is both funny and sad, leaving us with the notion not to let our free-will go to waste. War shouldn't be inevitable. The book is centered around the Dresden bombings in Germany and is semi-autobiographical as Vonnegut did actually experience the bombing. (though I doubt he ever knew anyone who got "unstuck in time" and visited other planets) Anyhow the book is a quick read, very entertaining, and gives you a lot to think about.

"Billy and the rest wandered out onto the shady street. The trees were leafing out. There was nothing going on out there, no traffic of any kind. There was only one vehicle, an abandoned wagon drawn by two horses. The wagon was green and coffin shaped. Birds were talking. One bird said to Billy Pilgrim. 'Poo-tee-weet'?"

5. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
This is a classic children's story that I love for the illustrations (by Silverstein) almost as much as the story. I am always surprised when I find that there are people who have never read it, so for that reason I had to put it on the list. It's a (somewhat controversial) story about a loving relationship between a tree and a boy. It's a story of selflessness, sacrifice, unconditional love, and growing up. If you're ever feeling nostalgic and want to read a book that you should have read as a kid... pick it up!

4. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
This book was written right before the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, and chronicles "the travels of its narrator, a young, nameless black man, as he moves through the hellish levels of American intolerance and cultural blindness." It is about race, identity, life in America, and most importantly the search for truth. I read this in high school and it has stuck with me ever since. It's a powerful story, insightful, and quite captivating. It's one of those books that you will be pondering for a while.

"I am an invisible man. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me."

3. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
This book has been the most influential book as far as my faith is concerned (not counting the Bible). I love almost all books by CS Lewis but this one is my favorite. He is so smart, thoughtful, eloquent, and often brutally honest. Mere Christianity takes a logical look at Christianity and provides a kind of Christian common ground for anyone from atheists to theologians. It takes a profound and compelling look at what makes Christianity what it is and I guarantee you will have a new respect for Lewis' intellect. He has an amazing ability to depict complex themes and major elements of Christian thought in simple and accessible terms. The book was originally a series of lectures he gave in the 1940's, so it is also a great book on tape since it was originally meant to be heard instead of read.

"All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

2. The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger
This is one of my favorite all time books. This follows a couple days in the life of 16 year old Holden Caulfield as he deals with all his frustrations from everything from phonies to teachers to graffiti. While this book is typically considered an insightful examination of teenage alienation, I think it can be appreciated at many different levels. You certainly don't need to be a teenager to appreciate the themes of alienation and needing someone to "catch" you. It's a fresh and unique look at America, relationships, death, and loneliness. And like any good book there is a good dose of teenage profanity, smoking, drinking and sexuality, and written in a slang that still sounds edgy today. It's the most banned book of all time but also one of the most taught books of all time so clearly it's pretty polarizing, but very good and rewarding, and definitely a great read. (As long as you like the main character)

"I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible."

1. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
My favorite book! It's so funny, I've never laughed out loud more than I have during this book. The main character, Ignatius, is so absurdly ridiculous, egotistical, and cynical he causes a riot every time he's in a scene. The book follows his quest to get a job, end war, and deal with all the people in his life, especially his mother and ex-girlfriend. If your sense of humor is anything like mine this book is a gold mine of laughs. When I start reading this book I can't really put it down until I finish it.

"I could only imagine how many haggard and depraved eyes were regarding me hungrily from behind the closed shutters; I tried not to think about it. Already I was beginning to feel like an especially toothsome steak in a meat market. However, no one called enticingly from the shutters; those devious mentalities throbbing away in their dark apartments were apparently more subtle seducers. I thought that a note, at least, might flutter down. A frozen orange juice can came flying out of one of the windows and barely missed me. I stooped over and picked it up in order to inspect the empty tin cylinder for a communication of some sort, but only a viscous residue on concentrated juice trickled out on my hand. Was this some obscene message? While I was pondering the matter and staring up at the window from which the can had been hurled, an old vagrant approached the wagon and pleaded for a frankfurter. Grudgingly I sold him one, ruefully concluding that, as always, work was interfering at a crucial moment."

. . .

"I dust a bit...in addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."

new plan

2008-06-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm going to throw away all of my socks (or maybe donate them to the Salvation Army) and then buy a bunch of new socks that are all exactly the same brand and style so all my socks will be the same. That way it wont be a big deal when one goes missing because they will all be matches.

nice places

2008-05-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I take for granted the beauty of the northwest. About a week or two ago I drove from Portland to Boise and about the first third or half of that drive follows the Columbia river. In a time where we trade parks and forests for Best Buys and endless subdivisions, it was refreshing to take a beautiful drive amongst a mighty river and treed hills. That's probably not something that you can get just anywhere. Unfortunately after that drive separates from the river you end up with a lot of brown hills and eastern Oregon desert.

On another note, Kiplinger.com came out with a list of the ten "Best Cities to Live, Work and Play" and Boise ranked number 4 on that list. The criteria was "places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do." Upon a little more research I discovered that Boise also ranked No. 2 on Forbes' best places for business and careers; No. 9 on Inc.com's hottest cities for entrepreneurs; No. 1 National Geographic adventure town; and No. 8 on Money magazine's best places to live. Sometimes you don't realize how good you have it. Well I have never lived in Boise, but now I'm thinking that it might be worth a try. While my other theory is that I can have a good time wherever I end up, Boise is just a little more attractive because I know many people in the area. Bottom line is I don't really know what I want... but I'm very open to suggestions.

Memorial Day Monday

2008-05-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start it off with a bike ride. I'l let you know how it goes. Then family barbecue at 2. Then some shopping for clothes (I need something to wear to my interview). Then hopefully hanging out with friends. All the makings for a good day.

still driving that horseless carriage

2008-05-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well I think everyone knows that gas is at an all time high. About $4.00 a gallon around the country. $135 a barrel (was $50/barrel in early 2007). Might be closer to $5 a gallon by the end of the summer. Some analytical energy industry trackers think in 2-3 years it could be $10 per gallon of gasoline (article). Well I say good. It ought to be $25 dollars a gallon. I think it's crazy that we are still so dependent on this 100 year old technology. Especially considering our need for oil is the source of almost all of our current world dilemmas, tensions, wars, etc. Not to mention the pollution it causes affects our air, water, soil, and probably global warming.

I say raise it to $25 and see how long it takes GMC to come out with the hydrogen cars that they had supposedly finished years ago but then abandoned because the gas prices started going down. I bet we'd also find a few more believers in electric cars. (which are supposed to cost about two cents per mile)

This is kind of a pointless ramble because in 10 years gas will probably cost that much anyway and we'll have hopefully moved on to bigger and better things. I just think all this gas/oil business is really frustrating. Of course I don't really like paying $4 a gallon and this blog is founded purely on principal.

it's been a while.

2008-05-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

These last 6 days I have been in Portland, OR and then Nampa/Boise so I haven't really had the time to blog. But this morning I will make time! As far as Maine goes, it's looking less and less likely. Upon a more realistic look at the situation I have realized that I don't really have enough money to move out there. It would cost several hundred just to get there, and then I would have to get a place to stay which would be tricky because I don't have a job yet (or tons of money saved up) and places want a security deposit and the first month of rent. So even if I found the very cheapest place I would be completely out of money. I did however call the Nazarene church over there in Portland, ME and asked the secretary if they had any families with an extra room that would let me stay for a short period of time until I could get my feet on the ground. I gave her all my information, but haven't heard from anybody. In lieu of all that, I'm seeking employment more locally. In fact I have a job interview in Boise next week, which is both exciting and scary. From everything I hear it's hard to get jobs right now because the economy is crashing or something like that. So it's hard to know how picky I should be, but right now I think the most important thing is getting some experience and a paycheck.

big and smooth

2008-05-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

Like any basketball fan, I am sitting here watching the Celtics take on the Cavs in game 6 of the NBA semi-finals. One of the big guys on the Celtics is Kendrick Perkins who is fairly young, so I got to wondering if he was somehow related to NBA great Sam Perkins. Maybe a son I never heard about? After exploring Kendrick's profile for a while (he was drafted 27th overall in 2003, went straight from H.S. to the Boston Celtics) I moved on to Sam Perkin's profile. To me, Sam Perkins has always been a staple of the Sonics and their glory days in the 90s. I thought he was kind of a Sonics for life kind of guy. So you can imagine how upsetting it was for me to discover that of his 17 years in the NBA, he only played in Seattle for five of them. He played six years for the Mavericks, three for the Lakers, and three for the Pacers. And he played all the way until 2001? He always seemed so old as a sonic in the mid 90s. Turns out the Big Smooth wasn't at all the man I remembered him to be, and not quite the tried and true, bleeds green and yellow, Sasquatch-loving Sonic that I had somehow made him out to be in my mind. Even still, it's hard for me to believe that Sam was drafted in-between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley and only a few after Hakeem Olajuwon. It would suck to be the team that was so close to drafting one of those Hall Of Famers and yet you got Sam Perkins. But at least they cant feel as bad as the team that drafted Sam Bowie over MJ... aka the Trailblazers. (They have been cursed ever since)

Oh, and as far as I can tell there is no relation between Kendrick and Sam, except they are both big and ugly.

Oh, and I forwarded his desk phone to mine.

2008-05-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

This might be a waste of your time if you don't care about The Office.

Tonight was a great episode of The Office. In an otherwise bland/less-funny season, this one definitely stood out as my favorite. It felt more like an old school season one or season two episode. I was so glad to see Jim prank Dwight in the cold open; that was when I knew there was hope. The Kevin story-line was hilarious, Jim "coaching" Michael was funny, Holly, aka Michael's soulmate, (aka Amy Ryan) was a good addition I thought, Creed is always fantastic and Andy (and his parents) was awesome. I will admit that part was also a little frustrating because I think just about everyone wanted to see Jim propose. But good job recapturing a lot of the original charm of the S1 and S2 episodes and creating/building on new stuff for next season. I just hope they keep Jan out of it.

Basically it's like they read everything that I complained about in my other blogs and changed it to make me happy--and I think any readers will agree that I was right! This one was way better... and I loved the ending. Everyone cross their fingers and hope for the return of Dwangela.

trendfollowing

2008-05-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ever read the comic Pearls Before Swine? It's one of my very favorites.

That should segway me into my next point just perfectly...

I discover new blogs every day from all sorts of people I know or kinda know, or at least have heard of. Blogging is huge! And I know I am in no way a veteran blogger, but in my defense I was completely unaware of how big the blog cyber world really was when I joined it. I really just wanted to write about papyrus. But I guess of all the trends, it's pretty cool. At least people are giving other people things to think about and discuss and are making attempts to use their brains be it to make a funny point or touch on serious matters. What I'm trying to say is at least it's different than myspace.

Side note: My friend Andrew got Grand Theft Auto 4, it's pretty entertaining. It's not a hard game to play but it stays interesting because its like a really big interactive movie unfolding before you, yet you're in charge of all the action scenes. Every guy's dream right? But all the thought that went into the game is pretty amazing. Though normal people will probably not like all the swearing and pointless killing in it. And I'm normal.

good things happened today

2008-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

A) I found many more graphic design and ad agencies in the Portland area than I initially thought existed.

B) I just happened to get ahold of the head of AIGA Maine (American Institute of Graphic Arts) who was very helpful and said he will help me get plugged into the graphic design community in maine and hopefully help me find a job when I get there. I'm supposed to give him a call and we'll meet for a coffee once I get there. It's good to "know someone."

C) My parents got me a new computer for my graduation gift (they are so generous!)... so now I'm rockin' a brand new black macbook. It's pretty awesome.

There was one weird part about today, not bad, just odd. We went to Applebees for dinner tonight and they had about five different TV screens in there. They were playing a lacrosse game on two of the screens, the Mariners game, golf, and Nascar. None of the screens were playing the NBA playoffs! What is up with that? I wanted to see the Lakers/Jazz game not some crappy lacrosse or Nascar. I just don't know where these people get their priorities. So yeah, Applebees is weird when it comes to that, but of course it couldn't ruin my good day.

Also, Kobe Bryant is ridiculous. As good as Chris Paul is, I'm really glad he didn't steal the MVP from Kobe. I can't decide who I want to win the whole thing. Obviously I like Boston because I would love to see Ray Allen (Jesus) and KG win a championship, but part of me wants the Lakers to make it. That would be a fun match up. Two legendary basketball programs rejuvenated. I wonder how many Magic vs. Bird reruns ESPN would play if it was the Lakers and the Celtics in the finals. Probably a lot, but it'd be worth it I think.

Anyway that's all for now. And Monika, I'm glad I'm not the only one with some anxiety about what to do now that I have this diploma thing!

antsy pants

2008-05-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Yes I graduated. About 4 days ago. It feels... uh about the same. The question I get asked time and time again, without fail, is what am I going to do after graduation? I usually skirt it with some sort of vague half-answer like "going to find a job somewhere." So what does the life of a recent and still jobless grad look like? Well so far for me it has consisted of sleeping in, writing lots of emails and making a few phone calls, and some inconsequential things like going to the grocery store, a mariners game, and the basketball court.

But the truth is I do have a plan. I have a place I want to go. A dream life to live for like a year, where I could get some graphic design experience and get away from everyone and everything for a little while. The idea is to kind of collect myself while experiencing something new and different. An adventure. It seems like a lot of my other friends are kind of settling down in their own quiet little lives and I don't want to do that yet, not while I'm this young and unattached.

But there is a problem. How do you move somewhere without a job? And how do you get a job somewhere when you're so far away? I guess that takes some serious faith in your ability to get a job and fast. I have made several calls to different ad agencies over there but with no success and an ever shortening list of agencies in the area. Tomorrow I am going to finish up calling the rest of them and then move to print shops in the area. Then comes the real dilemma, if no one is hiring do I still move? I just might.

Its hard to describe how antsy I feel right now, but thats my best attempt. So if anyone wants to move with me to Portland, Maine, you're more than welcome. We could split rent.

more pictures and stuff

2008-05-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Apropos my earlier post, I am publishing some pictures of my latest graffiti. I did Wonder woman, and mike did Captain America. I would be more proud of my Wonder Woman if Mike hadn't shown me up with such an incredible Captain America. I'm sorry I didn't actually get a picture of Captain America, but thats what happens when your mom is your photographer I guess.

Also I thought I would post some pictures from my senior graphic design show, just in case you were interested in what it looked like.

Finally, I had to find a new home for Daisy today. She was this great dog I adopted a few months ago, though I probably shouldn't have. Unfortunately I couldn't bring her home and with me looking for a job and stuff she was just too much of a burden. I hope she is in a good home now! Bye daisy...

graduation celebration

2008-05-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last night my family and I went out to celebrate my big graduation. We started it off with my favorite restaurant, Goodwood, where all of us ate more ribs than we ever thought possible. It was so good I had to take a slight break from my diet, but I didn't veer too far off course.

Afterwards we went to Black Light Mini-Golf (my family thoroughly enjoys mini-golf) where I dominated like usual. I think I won by like 3 or 4 strokes, so no big deal.

Then we came home for some dessert and family time. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening. I thought I would let you guys all know so you could feel like you were a part of my family for a night. Tonight I have graduation rehearsal and then tomorrow is the big day. It's pretty exciting!

all dressed up and nowhere to go

2008-05-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

The school-year is ending. I finished up my last final today. Last night we had our big senior show reception which was a pretty big success and a lot of fun. I put a computer in the gallery to show some of my web design, and interestingly enough it is from that computer that I am writing you right now, still in the gallery. (See the picture) Ha. But man what a weird and crazy range of feelings this time brings. On one hand it's exciting to graduate and move on and know that you accomplished something big. And also it's fun to prepare to do what I love to do for a real job. On the other hand, some friends that I have made over the last years are leaving today and tomorrow, and many of them I may literally never see again. Part of me doesn't care, and the other part of me will really miss this tight-knit community. I can see why so many people end up staying nearby after they graduate. But not me, I want to move on to bigger and better things. And I'll be back. And I know I'll stay in touch with the most important people for at least a while. Thank you facebook.

On another note, Mike and I did more graffiti. And we definitely improved from the last time. More info and pictures to come.

websites and monsters

2008-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

So, let me know what you think. peterjohnsondesign.com. I have been very busy lately so I haven't had much time to write. But at least I have something to show for it, a website! I need to change some things so it will load faster. But the main concept is there. So, I would love feedback. Or a job.

Which brings me to my next point which will most likely delight my mother. I applied for three (3) jobs today. I will be giving follow up phone calls in a day or two. Also there is one more job that looks good that I am going to apply for tomorrow. I'm excited because all these places seem like they would be really fun to work at. So we'll just see if I hear from anyone.

Onto other things, I did some graffiti. Or I like to call it street art. This was done behind the art building (the one place we thought it might actually have a chance of staying up). Mike (another design major) also did it with me. We weren't going to tell anyone, but we told one person and now everyone knows, so I might as well blog about it. Neither of has ever tried anything like this before, so it was all new to us. It was a very fun and I think somewhat successful experiment/adventure. In our time here at NNU we have had two very influential graphic design professors, Bouw and Kinsman. Bouw left last year and Kinsman replaced him. We love them both, so the graffiti was a homage to both of them. On one side Mike did "Bouw"zer (the character from Mario) and on the other side I did "Kins"-Kong, a big ape monster thing (king kong). They sorta meet in the middle where it is written, "Art Dpt." Even though it has got mixed reviews, I think it was mostly a hit and hopefully it will stay up. Then maybe over the years art students will add on to it. But only if they sneak in and do it at 1 am.

*Update: 2 of the 4 art professors have said they really like it and will try to keep it up, but it has to be approved by all the art staff. If they decided they as a department can't support this "vandalism" then we might be punished (aka have to paint over it)... or in a better case scenario they will hopefully let us finish it by doing a homage to all the other art professors and then we can call it a senior project. This would be awesome because then we could do some more, and not be so worried about getting caught by security.

You can click on the images to get a little bigger view.

maybe Dunder Mifflin should go on strike

2008-04-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last night constituted what was in my opinion the worst episode of The Office ever. Almost entirely unfunny, save perhaps the scene in which Meridith takes one to the face. Last weeks episode was passable, and I thought maybe there was hope that The Office was going to redeem itself, but I'm afraid to say that it appears to be all downhill from here. Apparently there's no room for comedy amongst all these scenes of uncomfortable awkwardness that the show now revolves around. The appeal of The Office before was the characters who all had a these weird quirks and character flaws which made their interactions really funny. (and yes sometimes awkward) But there was always a human side to them that made you sympathize and appreciate them, especially with Michael. Though he was a blundering idiot, he usually had the best intentions of the office in his mind and he really cared about everyone and even considered them his family. Now he is cold, mean, and a ridiculously dense idiot, which makes him basically inhuman and no fun to watch. Everyone's flaws and quirks are now being played up to the max, to the point that the characters don't really exist outside of their trademark idiosyncrasies. Not to mention, there is hardly any character interaction anymore, outside of Michael, Jim, Pam, and sometimes Dwight. The very heart of the show, the characters, has been cast aside in order to make way for 30 minutes of Michael being an unfunny retard at a dance club.

some things to read

2008-04-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

Update time. My senior show is up and available for viewing. But if you want to see it, I suggest you come during the reception on April 30 because then I'll be there too. It was a bit of work getting that done and it definitely feels good to have that behind me.

In other news, I will be applying for a job as a Web Designer in Boise soon. True, it isn't my favorite field, but it seems to be where the money is at. And the job market is begging for more web designers. It would be a short term thing, maybe a year. Assuming I got the job of course.

Speaking of web design, I will now be dedicating 80% of my time to finishing and publishing my personal website. Maybe 70%. Or 30%. The point is I want to have that done and the sooner the better. I'm hoping to have it done in two days, but there are all these pesky events that I'm somehow committed to attending.

For my sports section today, I would like to wish good riddance to Shaun Alexander. (the ex-running back for the Seattle Seahawks) Apparently people thought Julius Jones would do a better job, weird. Maybe Shaun could have stuck around if he didn't break his foot and wrist and if he still had Steve Hutchinson who apparently created holes big enough for a small marching band to march through untouched. The truth of the matter is, running backs are a dime a dozen, and Shaun's trademark "hesitation" move just wasn't cutting it any more. The moral of the story: don't sign 8-year $62 million contracts with almost 30 year old running backs.

For my entertainment section, nobody cares if Tom Cruise's son is going to be acting in a movie. Also, I don't see why people care so much about Dancing With The Stars. To me it sounds like the most boring TV Show ever created. But I guess Americans love any excuse to sit on the couch and watch people have fun without actually doing anything themselves. That might be my whole problem with reality TV. All that's happening is you are watching someone do something. At least with House or Scrubs there is a plot, a purpose, a idea that people worked hard to bring you a story that they felt was important or funny or both. Someday I will become a star just so I can refuse to participate in that show. That will be a blow Hollywood will never see coming.

Well I guess I better get back to cleaning all of my mint condition Shaun Alexander rookie cards and catching up on the latest episode of Dancing, I hope Tom Cruise's son makes a guest appearance!

This poem uses the many meanings of the word "line" to talk about love.

2008-04-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Lines
Martha Collins

Draw a line. Write a line. There.
Stay in line, hold the line, a glance
between the lines is fine but don't
turn corners, cross, cut in, go over
or out, between two points of no
return's a line of flight, between
two points of view's a line of vision.
But a line of thought is rarely
straight, an open line's no party
line, however fine your point.
A line of fire communicates, but drop
your weapons and drop your line,
consider the shortest distance from x
to y, let x be me, let y be you.

It's like the luck of the irish... only I'm not Irish so you figure it out

2008-04-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm tired and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. On Tuesday I think I'm playing basketball so I have that to look forward to. I love basketball, it makes me happy. My top five favorite basketball movies are as follows:

5. 3 Ninjas
This isn't really a basketball movie, it makes the list for the scene in which Rocky and Colt play basketball against the bullies in order to win Emily's bike back. Not only do they spot them 9 points, it features some unbelievable shots, blocks, and Rocky's game winning dunk is in itself a masterpiece.

4. Pistol: Birth of a Legend
How can you go wrong with a movie about Pistol Pete, my hero and possibly namesake. It's about him getting through high school and proving the critics wrong and becoming a star. No amount of corniness or bad acting could ruin such an inspiring story.

3. Hoosiers
I don't know how many times I had to watch this growing up, but it has paid off. I would never get caught watching the paint dry. It's the most classic basketball movie, Gene Hackman is a miracle man, and no list would be complete without it.

2. White Men Can't Jump
We goin' to Sizzla, we goin' to Sizzla. This movie is hilarious and chalked full of one-liners. The basketball gear they wore was gorgeous and I'm glad that this movie is around to forever document the style. Can white men jump? Just ask Duck Johnson.

1. Hoop Dreams
This movie is considered one of the best documentaries of all time. It follows Arthur Agee and William Gates, two basketball stars, through middle school, high school, and college documenting their quest to get to the NBA. Very interesting, moving, and something that will stick with you for a long time.

Senior Show Cold Sweats

2008-04-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been getting ready for our big Senior Design Show. It is open from Monday (21st) till Friday (2nd). The big reception will be April 30 from 6-9pm. So far this has involved painting the gallery, tweaking, printing, mounting, and hanging my best work, setting up my section of the wall just the way I want it, and of course constantly comparing what I'm doing to what everybody else is doing. I need some fresh eyes because I've seen these same pieces over and over again so many times that I have no idea if they are any good anymore; I'm just hoping that they are. It's to the point that I can come across something that I made a while ago and forgot about (most likely because I didn't like it that much to begin with) and now that I haven't seen it much over the last year it seems fresh and exciting. So now I'm trying to decide if it is actually good or if I just like it because it isn't the same piece that I've seen a million times lately. Maybe I should just leave it out since I have enough pieces anyway, or maybe I should leave it in and take something else out... ha ha ha... welcome to my life!

A blog, that talks about commas,

2008-04-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

There's a trend I've noticed more and more as of late. People use commas way too often. They think it makes their writing more sophisticated or something. Commas before ands and thats are especially common. Sometimes they should be there obviously. But just sprinkling them wherever does not make your writing seem smarter; it makes it seem awkward. That's all I'm saying.

sunburns, sandals, and workin' on the gut

2008-04-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about summer, besides the weather, is having barbecues with friends. Going to baseball games comes in a close second. A day where we could have a big ol' barbecue and then all go to a Mariners game constitutes a perfect summer day. For my friends and me, a barbecue consists of a few things. Namely grilling some burgers, brats, or dogs, washing that down with a cold beverage of choice, and then playing wiffleball or lawn games. And by lawn games I mean "Holey Boards," (also called washers) which is the king of all lawn games. It has everything you could want in a game: physical skill, strategy, defense, teamwork, do-or-die situations, and down to the wire, nail biting, gut wrenching excitement. (Official Site)

That is one thing I hope not to grow out of. It definitely makes me sad that Jason (my holey board teammate) and Bobby (my holey board nemisis) will be gone for the summer, making that tradition a little harder to uphold. But nevertheless I can't wait for summer and can only hope for an abundance of BBQs, competitive lawn games, and America's favorite pastime. Bring on the sun.

Next blog: the problem with commas. (The punctuation, not prolonged unconsciousness)

Honor In Losing

2008-04-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yeah right. Nobody remembers losers. People barely even remember Vice-Presidents. Sorry either Obama, Hilary, or McCain.

The Problems:

Obama has no experience and seems unrealistically lofty. Get your head out of the clouds. Remember Jimmy Carter? He was about as unexperienced as Obama (just some random governor); he was also the only president to experience double-digit unemployment and inflation simultaneously. Even the democrats turned on him while he was in office. Not to mention Obama is the anti-Christ and a Muslim extremist most likely sent to infiltrate our government to take it down from the inside. Oh Saddam, you're good alright.

Clinton is a woman and married to a publicly immoral man. Both of which seem to be big problems with the evangelicals who run these elections. She may have more experience and be a part of a family who ran the country without a whole lot of nation-ruining problems. But good luck trying to get a somewhat balanced cabinet or getting conservatives to try work with Hilary when every person who ever even had republican family members, let alone a republican thought of their own, seems to want to slit their wrists and die honorably before even entertaining the idea of Hil-Clint being in office. Once again I'm back on the topic of polarization. (see my Scrubs post) And as my friend Matt so tenderly put, we'd run the risk of war once a month.

McCain is old and stubborn like a mule. He said he'd leave the troops in Iraq for a hundred years if he has to. Red Flag. He doesn't represent change like so many people seem to want. But he is experienced and has paid his dues. I can't help but think back to the last great president who was so politically experienced you could say he was a poster-boy for politics. A Navy lieutenant commander, Congressman, two-term Vice-President, and two-term President. I'm talking about Richard Nixon of course. That seemed to work out. But hey, even he was against the Vietnam War (that part's not sarcasm). Who McCain picks as Vice-President is as important as anything, considering his chances of living through the next 4 years with such a high stress job are slim. (He's already 75, going on 175)

Do you want young and inexperienced, half a nation of hate, or old-dying-and-unchanging? Me too.

Whatever you do, vote. For reals. You are probably sick of politics and all the *crap* involved, and might be tempted to just stay out of it. But don't wait until you are old and really truly tired of the state of things and are wishing that the young generation (aka the future of the nation, aka YOU!) would get involved. Do something now.

Sick, Kevin, Sick.

2008-04-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

So far my only comment has been from my friend Bobby, so I'm going to post something that I know he'll enjoy.

This is a clip of my dad when he was on one of the sickest teams, with the sickest jerseys, and averaged 27.2 points and 9.6 assists in the playoffs versus the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, including 35.5 points and 10.5 assists in the two game sevens... still making time to bust an absolutely sick dunk on little ole' Hakeem.

Scrubs, The Office, Carson, and please no more Jan

2008-04-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm about to make two pretty bold statements about some things that are pretty near and dear to many people's hearts, that the masses will probably disagree with.

1. I like Scrubs better than The Office.

It didn't start out this way, believe me. I used to love The Office and would watch it over and over again. And I still love The Office, but as time has gone on I think it has gotten more and more tired. Too many of the good characters come and go, the comedy feels more and more forced and each week the characters somehow outdo the previous week's awkward ridiculousness. I think The Office is really funny, I just wish it didn't focus so much on making the viewer cringe with awkwardness and went back to the more fun office antics that it started out with. I mean when was the last time Jim pranked Dwight or Creed had a great one-liner? And I'm so sick of Jan.

Scrubs is great. Sure maybe it's not as funny as it used to be, and sometimes the jokes are a little too over the top. But it's not that big of a deal because there are always hilarious parts around the corner. Plus they use cool film techniques, great music, mix up the narration, usually have a good message (albeit sometimes very corny), and is just a lot of fun to watch. It's great on it's premier on NBC, great on reruns, great in syndication, and great on DVD. Hilariously quirky, sometimes uncomfortable, always honest. It's just a great show.*

*This is just my opinion, it seems to be a fairly polarizing show, because most people either love it or hate it.**
**Don't hate me just because you hate Scrubs.***
*** I stole some of that stuff I said about Scrubs from a messageboard I read.

2. I think the Last Call With Carson Daly show is good.

This is a big statement because I don't think I've ever met someone that agreed with me. Most people I know hate it and him. And I was one of them at first. But as I endured many a late night with nothing else to watch, it grew on me. This is not the same Carson Daly that leaves a bitter taste in our mouth from his MTV VJ days. No. He is actually very funny in my opinion. Not in a crazy, did that really happen, Conan O'Brien way (which is maybe what people want since his show is right after Conan's) but in a very understated, dry, sarcastic way. His stand up isn't that great, so he hardly ever does any of it, maybe one or two jokes. I love him for that. His interviews can be very funny, just because I think he realizes the idiocy of many of the celebrity guests on his show and very subtly pokes fun at them. The interview he did with his ex girlfriend Tara Reid was hilarious too, because he mainly just asked her awkward questions about why they broke up. Finally, the musical guests that he has on there are usually quite good. A lot of times they are smaller indie type bands that are really rockin', or underground hip hop stuff that is also really good but wouldn't make it on a big show like Conan or Leno. I think if you watch this show a few times with an open mind (which is key) you might just start to enjoy it.

T.E.D. (not Bundy)

2008-04-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

I just posted a bulletin on Myspace and a note on Facebook about this blog so I'm expecting millions of people to check out this blog. Afterwards I immediately got nervous, thinking about how little I actually had on here so far. I hate to disappoint (but I did just start it yesterday). Anyway I thought I would share about a little thing called T.E.D.

T.E.D. stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Its motto is "Ideas worth spreading." It is a conference held each year (I believe) in which the worlds foremost thinkers and doers in those feilds and more give presentations on the cool stuff that they are doing. Apparently the IQ at one of these conferences is through the roof. They have tons of videos of these presentations available on their website. http://www.ted.com/

I thought I would share one of my favorites, its not too long so make sure you watch it to the end because what that dang Octopus can do will most likely blow your mind.

Walking The Bible

2008-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been working my way through the book, Walking The Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler. I have it on CD so I just listen to it whenever I'm in my car. I'm about halfway through it. Anyway, it's really interesting. This guy is Jewish and from the US but doesn't feel any particular connection to his heritage or faith and doesn't really know if he believes the Bible. He takes a journey to the Middle East, meets up with a near stranger over there, and together they make their way through the first 5 books of the Bible (The Torah). He goes to where events in the Bible most likely happened and brings his bible and just really immerses himself in the the whole thing. It is really interesting to see the observations he makes and find out what he learns from actually being there, understanding the culture and the land, and earnestly trying to learn. So far it's definitely a recommended read for anyone wanting to "experience" the Old Testament in a more real way and understand it better without actually traveling there and doing it yourself. (which I kind of want to do now)

what a crazy night... I even created a blog

2008-04-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should have a lot to write about. And the truth is I probably do, but most of it seems way too personal for a public blog. So why did I create this blog? Good question. I guess we will just have to see what comes of it.

Well it is the end of the week. Saturday night. Time to unwind or something. Unfortunately Saturday Night Live isn't that funny anymore. Ashton Kutcher hosted; enough said. And of course Mad TV is an abomination. I actually changed the channel from Mad TV to another channel that was on a commercial just because their air-band skit was so unwatchable. My apologies to any Mad TV fans. (not for calling the show an abomination, but for your obviously lacking sense of humor)

Professionaly and educationally, I would have to say things have been going pretty well for me. My stint as Publicity Director is coming to a close which is probably more of a relief than anything. Though there are certain aspects that will be missed. The classes that I'm in aren't particularly tough so I'm not freaking out about the normal end of semester stresses. The main things I'm working on is a portfolio site which is coming along nicely (though it might scare some people) and getting stuff ready for the big Senior Design Show. (reception: April 30th)

Socially, however, I am about to give up on things. There are multiple problems here:
A. I now live with my grandparents in Middleton, ID, which is about 20-25 minutes from Nampa. So people can't just stop by anymore, and neither can I for that matter. Hanging out for me is now a big production. Plans have to be made at least half an hour in advance and there has to be an actual plan, no "we'll figure something out" types of wishful thinking.
B. It's the end of the year, we're approaching graduation, and people are busy.
C. I spent most of the semester hanging out with a few certain people, who due to some certain circumstances are no longer nearly as big parts of my life anymore. And its hard sometimes to get back into the swing of things with old friends that you haven't talked to much all year. But things seem to be improving, and plus I'll be out of here in three weeks anyway, right?

There you have it, the rundown of my most recent feelings on things. In the future this blog should be more upbeat and random hopefully. So hang in there. I guess I'll get back to my Mad TV marathon.